Only One Can Live
by BigLadyPotter
Summary: Lauren is about to be sent to the Hunger Games. But what happens when the unthinkable happens, and she goes with someone she loves?
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so this had been the first fanfic I wrote, and I'm finally posting it on here (: let me know what you think of it! I know it's not fantastic since it was the first story I wrote, but I hope you like it!**

**Chapter 1:**

I lift my arms above my head, ready to bring the ax down on my target. I can feel the pure power pulsing through my arms in anticipation for what would happen next, waiting for the swoosh of the ax through the air, the thud on contact. This was the moment I had been waiting for all my life.

My name is Lauren Knight. I live in District 7, the lumber district, in the country of Panem. I have always had a fascination for the hunger games, wanting to know what is like to feel the pure power that comes with being in the arena filled with weapons, with the only way out being victory over 21 others. So I've been training for as long as I can remember. My brothers don't understand my perspective about the games, and Kendall always jokes that I should be in one of the career districts.

I live in the wealthier area of District 7, because my family has been merchants for years. But it is just myself, my brother Kendall, and my adopted brother James. My father died when I was only three so I don't really remember him. But my mom died only two years ago, when I was 14. It was hard for my brothers and I, losing both parents and having to run a shop all by ourselves. Luckily, James was over the age of 18 and able to run the shop, or we would have been sent to the community home.

I am out back, practicing cutting with an ax. I want to be prepared for if I'm ever in the games, which I will be one day. Being from the lumber district has its advantages; no one finds it odd to be cutting wood. But only a handful of people know that I'm really training: my brothers, my best friend Alessandra and her siblings, and of course, my boyfriend Chris.

James and Kendall were getting ready to close up the shop, because it's my favorite day of the year: Reaping Day. For Kendall, this is his last year in the reaping because he is 18. But being 16, I still have two more years left myself after today. Two more years for a chance to be in the games.

"Lauren, it's time to start getting ready!" I turned towards the shop to see James standing in the doorway.

"C'mon James, just ten more minutes!" I am practically begging him to let me continue practicing.

"No because ten minutes will turn into another hour and we don't have enough time. Besides, I think you're perfectly prepared for the games if you're picked."

"Ugh, fine, mother" I jokingly say, sticking my tongue out at him. Honestly, ever since my mother's death, James has been acting like such a motherly figure. Defeated, I walk into the house to take a bath and put on my nicest dress. It really is a shame that we only get to wear nice dresses on Reaping Day. I really like getting dressed up all fancy.

I'm pulling my hair into my signature high ponytail as I see my brother Kendall walk in. "Hey Kendall, how are you feeling? You excited about the reaping?"

"I'm just glad that it's my last year. I don't know why you get so excited about possibly having to go into an arena with 21 other kids to fight to the death," he says as he sits on my bed.

"Hey, just be glad it's not 23 other kids like it used to be." It was almost 50 years ago that there were 12 districts. But then there was another rebellion with Katniss Everdeen as the Mockingjay. The Capital regained control and defeated the rebels. But not before destroying District 12. So now, for the 124th Hunger Games, there will only be 22 tributes.

"There are still kids in there that you have to fight to the death," he says with a sigh. He looks at my face and sees my look of determination, and knows this argument is useless. "Whatever, let's just head down to the Town Square."

We head downstairs and I see my best friend Alessandra waiting with her younger siblings, Dorian and Rosalinda. Dorian is fourteen and Rosalinda is only twelve. Today is her first reaping. One look at Alessandra's face and I can tell that she is absolutely petrified for her sister, that she will be pick for the female tribute, and she won't be able to volunteer for Rosalinda since she just turned 19.

We leave to go wait for the tributes to be announced and I walk next to Alessandra. "Don't worry about her, she'll be fine. She's about as safe as she can get in the reaping since her name's only in once."

"I know, but I'm just worried that the odds will not be in our favor and she'll get picked and I won't be able to save her from being killed." I can see that this is clearly tearing apart Alessandra, she loves her sister so much.

I'm about to comfort her, but I hear my name being called. I turn and see Chris and a big smile lights up my face. I run up to him and give him a big hug. "Hey, there's my future victor," he says. He knows I want to be in the games, and supports me even though he's worried about me. That's one of the things I love about him, he always supports my decisions and doesn't try to change my mind.

We have a short conversation but it's time to start the reaping, so we're forced to separate. I go stand by the other 16 year old girls to wait.

The mayor comes on the stage and starts giving a speech about the Dark Days and blah blah blah. I really don't think anyone actually listens to him. Well, maybe our over-energetic escort, Cresselia does. She's wearing the same hot pink suit as always. Next to here is District 7's only living victor, Stefan. He looked extremely bored about being there, like he does every year.

Cresselia is now at the front of the stage and is ready to pick the female tribute. I glance at the ball, thinking of all the slips that have the name Lauren Knight on them, hoping I'll be picked. Then she reaches in and says a name that is not mine, but someone else who I wish it wasn't. Rosalinda Diamond.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

No. Her, of all people? I can't stand it when twelve year olds are picked to be in the games. They have almost no chance of winning.

I jolt out of my trance when I hear someone shouting from the side. I snap my head towards the person: Alessandra. She is shouting for someone to take Rosalinda's place.

I hear the sound of desperation in her voice, and it tears me apart inside. I couldn't let my best friend be in this much distress. But no one was going to volunteer for Rosalinda. Even though everyone loves her, they care too much about their own lives.

I know what I have to do. I look over at Alessandra and make eye contact with her. She can tell exactly what I am about to do. "No, Lauren! Don't do it!"

But I turn away from her. I look towards the stage and see that Rosalinda is almost there. She's so small, and I start thinking about how the Career tributes will be massive compared to her, and how they'll easily be able to overwhelm her with their strength. This only makes my decision resolute.

"I volunteer!" I shout out in a clear voice. I start to walk towards the stage. I keep my head held high; I don't want the other tributes thinking I am weak. Besides, this is exactly what I have been dreaming of my entire life.

I finally make my way to the stage. Cresselia is practically bouncing out of happiness. It's not often that District 7 has a volunteer. "Great! Now what's your name?" she asks cheerfully.

"Lauren Diamond," I say proudly. I look at the crowd and my eyes meet with Kendall. I can tell that he is worried about me, he has always tried to protect me. I give him a smile to let him know that I'll be ok.

While this exchange has been going on, Cresselia has walked across the stage to pick the boy tribute. And I thought the Reaping couldn't get worse today with who was picked.

Chris Mitchell.

The love of my life. Picked to be in the Hunger Games. If one of us makes it out, then the other is dead. I start shaking my head no in denial.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I quietly mumble. Great, I'm going to have an emotional breakdown in front of all of Panem.

But then I hear someone's voice shouting out that they volunteer: Kendall.

He walks onto the stage and is greeted by Cresselia. "Wow another volunteer!" she says cheerfully. "Now what's your name?"

"Kendall Knight," he says with a pained look at me. I know how hard this must be for him, to volunteer to be in something he has despised his entire life. And he knows that he will most likely not make it out; not if I am to, which is quite obviously his plan.

"I'm guessing you two must be siblings!" Cresselia says happily. "Now shake hands you two."

We do as we're told and then the anthem starts playing. I glance over at Stefan, and notice that for once he doesn't look bored. Probably because of the excitement that two people volunteered, and their siblings. The anthem ends and we are brought into the Justice Building by the peacekeepers.

I sit in my room, waiting for my first visitor to walk in. James opens the door and I give him a hug.

"Listen to me, Lauren," he begins in a stern voice. "I think you have the potential to win the games. Make sure you get an ax right away, that will help you the most. Stay away from the Career tributes, they will only kill you later on. And make sure you help out Kendall, you're his only hope for making it past the bloodbath."

I nod my head in response, knowing he is right. "I love you, James."

The peacekeepers then walk in to take him away. "I love you too Lauren! Remember what I said," he shouts as he is being walked out the door.

The door shuts and I sit back down on the couch, waiting for the next person. I don't have to wait too long. The door opens and Alessandra and Rosalinda walk in.

Alessandra runs to me and squeezes me in a tight hug. "Lauren, thank you so much! I don't know what I would have done if she had to go and fight, and I had to sit here and watch her die," she says through her sobs.

I rub her back and try to sooth her. "Shh, it's alright, she's not going anywhere," I say. "I had to volunteer for her. No one else was going to, and I knew you couldn't. She is like a sister to me, and I needed to protect her." I'm starting to get a little teary eyed.

Rosalinda starts pulling on my sleeve. "Lauren, thank you for saving my life. I brought something," she says has she reaches into her pocket. She pulls out a necklace that has two axes in an "X" on it. "I know that each tribute is allowed to have a token, and I want you to have this as yours. My father gave it to me when I was younger. But since your so skilled with axes, I think it's fitting to have as your token. And it will be something to remind you of everyone at home."

I take the necklace and put it around my neck. "Thank you, Rosalinda. This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me," I say with a smile. I pull her into a hug, but then the peacekeepers walk in. Then they're gone.

Chris walks in and I run into his arms. I can't help but start crying. He was so close to having to go into the arena, and face almost certain death.

We just sit holding each other for a few minutes. Then Chris begins to talk. "I visited Kendall. To ask him why he volunteered for me. He did it all to protect you. He said he knows how much I mean to you, and he didn't want you to have to live without me, should you win. So he volunteered to protect you, so you would be happy." He pauses briefly. "And when you do win the games, I want to marry you," he says with a smile.

"Of course, Chris," I say through my tears. "I love you," I say and hug him again.

Two peacekeepers walk in. One to take Chris and the other to lead me to the train station. I wipe my tears away as we walk out of the building. I get to ride in a car for the first time, going to the station. There are cameras everywhere, trying to get the best view of the District 7 tributes. We meet up with Kendall at the station. I grab his hand, suddenly realizing that my time left with my older brother, is very limited.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Cresselia has just shown us to our rooms, and I am lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. I should be happy right now that I'm going to the games. But I'm not. I'm just trying to figure out why I'm slightly upset.

Then I realize. It's because my brother Kendall is my fellow tribute. If I live, then that means that my brother is dead. This is all wrong. I've always wanted to be in the games, but not with my brother!

I finally decide to go take a shower before dinner. I head into the bathroom and look at my face in the mirror. I stare at my blonde hair and piercing green eyes. The same hair and eye colors that Kendall has. Except his eyes have a certain sparkle to them. I start crying when I think about the sparkle being extinguished from his eyes.

I carefully take off my necklace and place it on the counter. I just throw my dress on the floor in a crumpled pile, not really caring. I step into the shower and I am overwhelmed by the large amount of different buttons. I just press a random one, simply wanting the feeling of hot water to wash away my tears. But I'm suddenly hit with a blast of cold water. I press more buttons but only result with alternating blasts of cold water and vanilla soap.

At that point, I just gave up hope about having a nice warm shower and get out. Right when I step out, I'm hit with a blast of warm air and I'm dried off. That was convenient. I examine the pad on the floor, and notice there is a similar one on the wall. I press my hand to it and my hair becomes perfectly dry. I guess this is just one aspect of the luxurious lifestyle of the Capitol.

I go back to my room and grab a plain black t-shirt and a pair of jeans to put on. I pull my hair up in a ponytail and head down to the dining car.

When I get there, I see that I am the last one to arrive, and the only open seat is between Cresselia and Stefan. Great. This will be a fun dinner.

"Glad to see you finally made it, Lauren! Now that you are here, we can talk strategy!" I am really starting to get sick of Cresselia being so damn happy. Would it be wrong if I punched her?

But before I could, Stefan starts talking. "The best strategy you can have is to stay alive. Don't side with the careers, even though it doesn't really look like either of you would be wanted in their pack."

Ok, that is just plain rude. Insulting our abilities before even knowing what we can do. "Hey, you shouldn't be judging us before we even tell you what we can do! And did it ever cross your mind that maybe we do have some talent, and might actually be able to win?" There I go again, speaking irrationally before thinking. And now Stefan probably won't want to give me anything from sponsors. So I just turn down to my plate and start eating some of the delicious food.

After a few minutes, I notice that everyone is quiet. I look up and see everyone staring at me. "What, do I have something on my face?"

"That," Stefan begins, "is exactly the kind of spunk I look for in tributes. So, what kind of skills do you have darling?"

I'm not sure why, but him calling my darling just really pissed me off. So I did another irrational thing. I took my knife and stabbed the table right between his fingers. "Don't call me darling." I say with a growl.

Then my stupid brother starts laughing hysterically at me being annoyed by Stefan. I give him an evil look. "What's so funny, dummy?"

But soon everyone except me is laughing. So much for being able to be angry at Stefan.

"OK darling, obviously you are skilled with knifes," Stefan says as he pulls the knife out of the table. "Any other skills you can do?"

"She's very skilled with axes," Kendall says before I can answer. "She's been training for years to be in the games."

Stefan raises his eyebrows, but doesn't say anything else. So we just continue eating dinner with small conversation. Then Cresselia is leading us into another room to watch the reapings.

The tributes from 1,2, and 4 are all large and tough looking. But that's not surprising because they are the Careers.

The girl from 3 looks small and weak. The boy is tall but very frail looking like he has never had a proper meal.

The girl from 5 is 18 years old and looks like she weighs 50 more pounds than I do. The boy from her district is a small 12 year old, and I can't help feeling bad for him. But then I remember that he is my opponent and must die if I am to make it home.

Next it's District 6. There's nothing spectacular about them that makes them stick out.

Then it's District 7, and I see Rosalinda being called, Alessandra on the sidelines begging for someone to save her sister. And then myself volunteering. The announcers are talking about how brave it was for me to volunteer for Rosalinda. Then Chris is called, and Kendall volunteering. The announcers get a bit sad when he says his name and they find out we're siblings.

Then they move on to District 8. The tributes are a pair of 13 year olds, and it's obvious that they are best friends. It slightly breaks my heart, because I know how it feels to be going into the arena with your best friend.

The District 9 tributes look like an average pair of kids, not too strong or scary looking.

The girl and boy from 10 are both tan and have large arm muscles, which I'm guessing is from years of herding animals.

The girl from District 11 looks small and nimble, probably from climbing trees for agriculture. The guy is large, but he seems to have a sweet side since he volunteered for a boy that is 12.

The ones that stick out in my mind are both from 1,2, and 4 because they will be brutal; the girl from 5 looks like she might be like a Career; and the guy from 11 looks like he could easily hurt someone.

Cresselia then has us go off to bed, since we'll be arriving at the Capitol in the morning. I fall asleep but wake up after a couple of hours from nightmares. I go find Kendall and see he is awake too. So I stay in his room talking the rest of the night, just enjoying one of my last few peaceful nights with him before we are in the arena.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

I woke up in my room to the sound of a sharp knock on the door. "Wake up, Lauren! We have a big day ahead of us!" I then heard the clicking of high heels down the hall, indicating Cresselia has walked away.

I am slightly confused as to why I'm in my room because I was talking to Kendall in his room last night. I probably fell asleep and Kendall carried me to my room. He is probably one of the greatest brothers ever, and it really pains me knowing he will most likely die in the games.

I go in to the shower and I'm actually careful about which buttons I press this time. I have hot water this time, and I use some shampoo that smells of pine, and reminds me of home. I grab the first clothes I see in my drawers to wear and then head down to breakfast.

When I arrive, only Kendall and Cresselia are there. Stefan seems to be missing, which is perfectly fine with me. I sit next to Kendall and fill my plate with a bit of everything. I then take a sip of whatever is in my mug. It tastes like heaven. I ask about it and find out that it is hot chocolate.

After a few minutes of peace while eating, Cresselia starts to go over our schedule for the day. "OK, so we should be arriving at the Capitol in under half an hour. Then you will head to the remake building and be taken care of by your prep teams. Then you'll meet your stylists and travel on the chariot ride to the City Circle. After President Xavier gives a speech, you will enter the Training Building where you'll be staying until the games."

I take all this in and think of how chaotic a day it's going to be. I didn't even notice Stefan walk in until he said something, I was so absorbed in my thoughts. "Try not to complain about what your prep team does, you won't like it."

I give him a confused look but he doesn't explain further. But I am suddenly distracted by the darkness around the train. We must be in the tunnel that leads into the Capitol, I realize. Then I am blinded by the sudden bright light, and I'm shocked by my first view of the Capitol.

Words cannot describe the magnificence of the city. Buildings in all different shades of color; it was like looking at a rainbow. People with all sorts of body alterations to make them look in style. These people looked up at the passing train in excitement, because it is a tribute train. I can't help waving at them and smiling. Besides, one of those people out there might be rich and want to sponsor me. It never hurts to think ahead.

Then we pull up to the remake building to be completely beautified for the chariot rides tonight.

I gripped the side of my chair in pain as the last bit of hair on my body was waxed off. I now know what Stefan meant about not liking what the prep team will do to me. But it's hard to be angry at them, they seem so innocent with their silly capitol accents and outrageous styles. One of them, Calpurnia, has bubblegum pink hair, and light blue skin. It took me a couple minutes to realize that she is trying to look like cotton candy, one of the Capitol's sweets. My next two stylists are brother and sister: Icilius and Emboria. Icilius has ice blue skin, a slightly darker shade of blue hair, and wears deep blue lipstick. Emboria, on the other hand, has orange-red skin, bright red hair, and wears lipstick that matches her hair. To put it simply, I probably have one of the most outrageous prep teams in the game. And I'm hoping this isn't an indication of what my stylist will be like.

After soaking in several different baths to soothe my skin, I am at what they consider Beauty Base Zero. Now they can start to make me look pretty so I can win sponsors. Calpurnia is painting my nails a deep green shade that reminds me of the forests at home. Icilius is putting my make up on, while Emboria is doing my hair. Apparently my stylist wants people to recognize me in the arena so I am at least allowed to wear my hair in its normal ponytail. They finish and leave to get my stylist.

I patiently wait a couple minutes when he finally walks in. I'm surprised by his normalness. He is dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a plain purple V-neck shirt. The only thing that suggests a life in the Capitol is an arrangement of gold tattoos on the left side of his face. He has short brown hair that is spiked up a bit in the front. "Hi Lauren, my name is Logan," he says with a gentle smile. I have a feeling that I'm going to like him.

"So, let me see what we have to work with here," he says as he starts to circle around me, examining my body. I start to feel slightly uncomfortable just standing there naked, but he is done quickly. "Alright, if you'll put your robe on, you can come with me and we can discuss your outfit for tonight."

We sit down at a table where there is already our lunch sitting there. I start to eat the delicious food when Logan starts to tell me about his idea.

"So, with your costume, I want to focus on your district, which supplies lumber," he begins to explain.

Oh no, I'm going to be a tree, like the District 7 tributes are every year.

"The people of your district cut up trees to distribute lumber all over Panem."

Definitely a tree.

"But I think previous stylists have been too focused on the lumber, and not the actually people themselves. Your outfit is something that will make people think you just got done cutting trees, but your also ready for battle at a seconds notice. But there will still be an aspect of the trees in your outfit, without you being dressed as one. So once you finish up your lunch, I'll take you to see exactly what I mean."

This idea for the costume sounds interesting so I hurriedly finish my lunch. I'm mostly happy that I won't be a tree.

We walk back into the styling room, and I see there is a garment bag lying in there, waiting for me to put on the contents. The prep team comes back in and helps me get dressed in the outfit. They finish and Logan does some finishing touches on my makeup and hair. "There, all finished." he says, and spins me around to face the mirror.

I'm shocked at my reflection. I'm dressed in dark brown khaki pants and a deep green shirt. I have a thick brown belt around my waist with an ax tucked into it. My makeup is designed to look like I have smudges of dirt on my face. In my hair, I have some leaves tucked in, and a vine twirls down in my ponytail. I really look like I could have just left the woods.

"There are still some aspects of trees in the outfit, in the colors of the pants and shirt. And the ax of course is plastic, but I wanted it there to give the look that you have been cutting down trees all day. And the leaves give the look that you have been around trees your entire life. And there will be one more surprise, but you won't find out about that until right before you leave." he finally finishes explaining.

"Logan, this outfit is perfect!" I say and give him a big hug. "I'm sure I'll be the best dressed tribute out there. Is Kendall wearing the same thing?"

"Yes. His stylist Camille and I want to present you guys as a team, since you are brother and sister." He pauses to glance down at his watch quickly. "We have to go, it's time to get ready to go on the chariots."

We head down the fancy elevator to where all the chariots are waiting. I see Kendall and his team waiting next to a chariot pulled by dark brown horses. The brown is exactly the color of the bark on trees. Kendall is wearing almost the exact same, except he has a dark green tank top instead of a shirt like me. This, I realize, must be an attempt for female sponsors to think he is attractive by showing off what little muscle he has.

"Hey Kendall, they actually made you look pretty. This has to be a first!" I can't help but joke around with him. Besides, someone as to lighten up the mood. He just sticks his tongue out at me.

"OK guys it's time to get on your chariot!" Logan says as he walks over with Camille. But before we get on, he hits a hidden button on our shirts. They start to glow in a greenish light, and I realize that it looks like leaves in the summer time, bathed in sunlight and being rustled by the wind. We really have the aspect of trees without really being trees.

"Oh Logan, it's great!" I say when I'm atop the chariot. He smiles and walks away to wait for us later. I turn to Kendall and hold my hand out for him. I realize now that there is no way I can make it through the ride without him keeping me steady, being my rock. I turn to face the opening where the first chariots are leaving. Our chariot starts to move, and I brace myself to face the crowd of Capitol people, who are hungry for our deaths.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

The crowd goes crazy when they see us. Our costumes have clearly outdone everyone else. We definitely have the best stylists this year.

I can't help it, I get caught up in the excitement. I start waving and smiling at the crowd, and they're going crazy. I even blow some kisses at people, and they are all frantic to catch it. Soon, everyone is chanting 'District 7'.

I catch a glimpse of myself on one of the screens and realize that I really do look fantastic. And I also notice that Kendall and I are getting the most air time.

We soon pull up to the City Circle and wait for the remaining chariots to arrive. I can see that the Careers from 1 are giving us dirty looks because we are taking the attention away from them. This just makes me smile more. President Xavier walks out to give a speech about the Dark Days, the second rebellion, and the Hunger Games. Then it is time to head into the Training Building. The cameras show all of the tributes but linger on us longer than the rest. And then, we are inside the building away from the crowd.

We jump off the chariot and are met by Logan and Camille. He turns off our shirts and gives me hug. "You were great, Lauren. You shone tonight; literally and figuratively."

We walk towards the elevator, and I realize that Kendall isn't with us. I turn around and see him talking to the girl from 5. I don't like her, and I don't want Kendall talking to her. I go to stop him but Logan puts his arm around me and leads me onto the elevator. I sigh and push the button for floor 7.

The doors open and I'm ambushed by Cresselia. She holds me in a tight hug to the point where I almost can't breathe. "Oh you were great Lauren!" she says. "But where's Kendall?"

"Last time I saw him he was flirting with the girl from 5," I say with some resentment. There just is something about her that I don't like. I feel like she would be quick to stab you in the back if you were to become allies with her.

This only makes Stefan laugh at me, which results in a glare from me. "C'mon Lauren, let him enjoy himself during his last few days. Besides, it might be useful for you two to have some allies." I don't think he meant to, but his words brought tears to my eyes, like every time I think about how many days he has left.

Logan, of course notices this before everyone else. He pulls me into a hug and tries to comfort me. "Shh, it's going to be ok," he says as I cry onto his shoulder.

I hear Cresselia talking to Stefan quietly in the background, but I couldn't quite make out all of her words. But I could clearly hear her say "why would you say that?"

The elevator dings and Kendall steps out. "What's wrong? Why is Lauren crying?" he says right away when he sees me.

Before I could say anything, Cresselia responds. "Stefan is just an idiot and said something that upset Lauren." Hmm, maybe Cresselia isn't that bad. She did just stick up for me against my mentor.

Thinking ahead, Logan says, "Hey why don't we go watch the reruns of the opening ceremony? We can see how pretty Lauren looked." This made me cheer up slightly.

Everyone starts walking towards the living room. "Thanks Logan," I quietly say to Logan. He really is a nice guy, and he is probably the only person from the Capitol I will miss in the games. He really is sweet, nice, and hot. Wait, did I just say hot? Snap out of it Lauren, you can't start falling in love with your designer for the games. Besides, you have a boyfriend back home. He's also the one you promised to marry if you win the games.

I shake my head lightly to clear my head as I sit down. This is not the time to be thinking about stuff like that. So I focus on the chariots.

District 1 tributes are covered in gems. But that's not surprising because they supply luxury goods.

District 2 tributes are wearing some kind of warrior outfit. I guess their stylists were trying to work on the fact that the main military base of Panem is in 2.

District 3 tributes are wearing white suits with wires all over. Ugh, I would hate to be from the electronics district.

District 4. Oh. My. God. They are only wearing nets. Nets with fake fish attached to them. Those poor kids.

District 5 tributes are wearing science coats and carrying fake chemicals in vials. That is so overused. Can't anyone think of something new for the science district?

District 6 tributes are dressed as doctors. Another unoriginal thing for the medicine district.

Then Kendall and I come out. We definitely outshone everyone else with our great costumes. I look at myself and I can't believe that the beautiful person standing on top of the chariot is really me. I think of what everyone back home is thinking about me: James, Alessandra, Rosalinda, and Chris.

Then the District 8 tributes come out in some unflattering smock of different fabrics sewn together. Wow, their stylist really couldn't come up with something better for textiles?

District 9, the coal district, comes out in the usual coal miner's outfit. At least they aren't naked and covered in black dust like some years.

District 10 comes out as cows. I can't help it, I start laughing. It's just sad that they are being forced to parade in the Capitol dressed as cows.

Then lastly, District 11. They dressed the cute 13 year old girl as a flowering apple tree and the boy is a farmer. I have to say, it looks pretty good.

"Alright there you have it," says Cresselia. "Now I suggest you two go get some sleep. You have training tomorrow at 10, but I want you up earlier to discuss your strategy. Good night."

I get off the couch to go to my room, but give Logan a hug real quick before I leave. "Thanks again for everything so far." I say and he responds with a small smile. I walk down the hallway to my room but before going in I wait for Kendall with my arms crossed. He sees me and can tell right away that I'm not happy.

"What's with you talking to the girl from 5 earlier?" I ask in an emotionless voice.

His face shows he is confused about why I'm angry. "You mean Angela? I was just talking to her. She's actually really nice when you talk to her."

"Yeah well I don't like her. Something about her just seems like she'll stab you in the back at some point." I was starting to get frustrated that he wasn't seeing my perspective with this.

"You don't even know her so how can you say that? And I think I'm going to be allies with her, so if you still want to stay with me then you will have to deal with her," he says with a smirk.

"Urgh, fine! But it's your death then!" I say and slam my door in his face. I was so frustrated that I just took of my costume, threw it on the floor in a pile, and crawled into bed in my undergarments.

I don't know how long I slept for, but I woke up sometime during the night. I tried to fall back asleep but my mind was thinking about too many things; everyone at home, the girl from 5, Angela, and then Logan. At some point I gave up on falling back to sleep and took a shower to get ready for the day. I grabbed the clothes that had been placed on my bed and put them on. It was definitely something Logan picked out.

I walked out to the dining room and served myself breakfast and watched the sun rise over the Capitol. Soon everyone was out, but I ignored Kendall.

Stefan came over and immediately got right down to business. "So, how do you want to be trained? Individually or together?"

I think of last night and I automatically say, "Separate." I don't even let Kendall discuss it with me.

"Alright, it's decided then. So today in training I want you try out all of the stations except your strong point. I don't want the other tributes to see what you are capable of. So that means no ax station for you, Lauren." I was extremely disappointed by this, but Stefan does have a point.

The next two days pass by quickly. I spend time at each station except for axes, and my fingers were itching to get ahold of the fancy axes. I learned which plants are edible, how to set snares, tie knots, make fishing hooks. I even worked a bit with spears and the bow and arrows, but it didn't go that well. My knife throwing is pretty accurate though. At some point I was at the same station as the friends from 8, Gabriella and Lucius. I guess I kinda made an alliance with them, or at least agreed to work with them if the situation arises.

But now, it's the last day of training and it's time for the private sessions. I can't wait to get my hands on those axes. I wait impatiently, and finally it's my turn. I walk in and head straight towards the axes. Oh, the wonderful axes they have. I pick up a double sided ax. I also grab some knifes. I stand in the center of the room and throw the knives right at the dummies, landing perfectly in its chest. Then I throw the ax at it and decapitate it. I grab another ax and I jump, go into a roll, and throw the ax at another dummy, and the ax landed right where the heart would be. After this move, some of the gamemakers clap, and the head gamemaker thanks me and dismisses me.

I feel rather confident about how I did and head up to my floor. Stefan and Cresselia are both waiting for me. "Well, how did it go?" Stefan asks.

"I did exactly what we planned. Most of them looked rather impressed," I say.

"Good, good. Now, you have a couple of hours before they announce the scores so you're free to do whatever you would like," Cresselia says. I decide to go take a nap.

I wake up from someone shaking me, and I expect it to be Cresselia. But instead I open my eyes and see Logan. "Hey Lauren," he says with a smile. "It's time for them to announce the scores."

I get up and walk with Logan into the living room and see that everyone else is there. "It's about time she woke up," Stefan says quietly in an annoyed voice.

"Nice to see you to Stefan. Glad to see that we are a bundle of sunshine today." Ha, that should wipe the smirk of his face. It's so much fun being sarcastic to him.

The seal of Panem appears on the screen and we all stop talking.

District 1 girl: 9. District 1 boy: 10.

District 2 girl: 10. District 2 boy: 10.

District 3 girl: 5. District 3 boy: 5.

District 4 girl: 8. District 4 boy: 9.

So far I'm not surprised about the scores; the Careers always get between 8-10, and the District 3 tributes look relatively weak.

District 5 girl: 9. I knew Angela has the potential to be like a Career, and this just proves it. District 5 boy: 5. I feel bad for the poor boy from 5, since he's only 12.

District 6 girl: 6. District 6 boy: 5.

Then my face is on the screen. And then the number 10 is flashing. Holy crap! A 10? That's as well as the best Careers! Then Kendall is shown. He managed to get an 8. I raised my eyebrows at him, but quickly turned back to the tv to see the rest of the scores.

District 8 girl: 7. District 8 boy: 7. I'm happy for Gabriella and Lucius for getting good scores, it might mean that they can survive longer.

District 9 girl: 6. District 9 boy: 4. Now that's just pathetic, getting a 4 for a score.

District 10 girl: 6. District 10 boy: 7.

District 11 girl: 7. I'm not sure how that small girl got such a high score. Then lastly, District 11 boy: 9. He is definitely going to be one to watch out for.

Cresselia and Stefan are congratulating Kendall and I on our scores. Logan gives me a big hug and a smile. We then head into the dining room for dinner. After I head to my bedroom to take a shower. And before I go to sleep, I go to Kendall's room to find out what exactly he did in his private session.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

I walked into Kendall's room, and see him lying on his bed. "So, are you going to tell me how you got that 8 when I have never seen you touch a weapon?"

I think he knew I would ask this eventually, so he sighs and pats the space next to him on his bed for me to sit. "First, you have seen me use weapons before, you probably don't remember," he starts to explain. I must have a confused look on my face because he quickly continues explaining. "When I was five, before father died, he would sometimes take me with him into the woods and show me how to use an ax. But I never liked the ax. What I really liked was to throw knives. I started to get really good because I would practice every day. But then father died in the accident, and I didn't touch the knives again. I immersed myself with helping around the shop."

"I never knew that. Why did you never tell me?"

"It was never brought up," he explains. "And I didn't think it was important."

"Ok, so you have this secret hidden talent with knives," I say, trying to figure out this entire thing. "So what did you do in your private session?"

"Threw some knives around. Did some fancy tricks with rolling and stuff. Nothing that spectacular. I'm honestly surprised I got that high of a score."

"Wow," I say. "I kinda did the same thing. I threw some knives at dummies and I did a roll, except I threw an ax after. I guess we really are siblings." I can't help but laugh a bit at our similarities.

"I guess we are," he says. "Alright, you need to get to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow with the interviews and what I'm sure will be another day in hell provided by our prep teams."

I groan at the thought. "Fine, I'll go to sleep," I say as I get off his bed. "Goodnight Kendall."

"Goodnight Lauren. Remember, you can come wake me up if you have nightmares. I really don't care." I smile at him and then close the door.

Once in my room, I grab some soft pajamas from a drawer and put them on, then crawl into bed. Kendall is right, I do have a big day tomorrow with the interviews in the evening. So I'll try to get some sleep.

I wake up to Cresselia knocking on my door and shouting something about needing to work on stuff for the interview. I take a quick shower and pull on the first things in my closet. Then I head out to see what Cresselia has planned for us before the prep teams come.

"It's about time you got out here Lauren," she says when she sees me. "No matter, you're here now. So we have four hours before your prep teams come to get you ready. You will each spend two hours with Stefan working on what you will say during your interviews and two hours with myself on posture and how to act. Lauren, you'll be with Stefan first and Kendall you'll be with me."

This should be a fun morning. Two hours straight with Stefan.

Stefan and I work on trying to figure out some way for how I display myself. We try several things, but they are a disaster: girly, humble, sexy, humorous, and distant.

At this point, I'm tired of everything. "Why can't I just be myself?"

Stefan spits out the water he was taking a sip of and starts laughing. "No one will like you if you do! You aren't exactly the nicest person. And nobody will want to sponsor you."

After that last comment, I just stay quiet for the rest of the time. I figure I'll think of something to do. If not, I'll just be myself no matter what Stefan thinks. But then it's time for my two hours with Cresselia. And I thought the hours with Stefan were bad.

So apparently, I have been walking with the wrong posture my entire life, I don't sit right, and I fail miserably at walking in the four-inch heels she has me practice in. She was getting mad at me, and eventually just gave up. I never thought I would be glad to see my prep team arrive. They were my saviors from Cresselia. They started to work on my makeup, hair, and they repainted my nails.

Soon I was almost ready, and Logan arrived with my dress in a garment bag. "Hello, Lauren. Looking beautiful as always, I see. Now, let's get this dress on you! Close your eyes, I don't want you seeing until we are done!"

I listen to him and close my eyes. I can hear the bag being unzipped. Then the soft fabric is being slipped over my head. My hair and makeup are touched up. I am helped getting on a pair of flats. "Ok we are done. You can open your eyes."

I stare at the mirror, amazed at how beautiful I look. My dress is dark green, strapless, cinches right below my bust and poofs out towards the bottom. At the tightest point, there is a brown sash tied around. It goes to just above my knees. My hair is in a low side ponytail and curled. My eyes have a smoky look to them that bring out the green. All over my body I have gold powder.

I just couldn't speak, it is so perfect. Logan comes up behind me to look at my reflection with me. "You like it?" I shake my head no.

"I love it Logan. It's absolutely perfect!" I say and hug him. He takes my hand and leads me downstairs to the lobby of the Training Center where everyone is gathering.

I see Kendall and walk over. He is wearing a dark green suit that matches my dress. We talk a bit before we are lined up with the rest of the tributes. And then, we're walking onstage.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

We walked out on stage and take our seats. Claudia Flickerman is waiting on stage to give us our interviews. She inherited her father's midnight blue suit, but made slight altercations. She dyes her hair, eye lids, and lips a different color every year, just like Caesar did. This year, they are a sea foam green. "Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 124th Hunger Games! I'm Claudia Flickerman, but you all know that. But who you really want to know are the tributes sitting behind me. So let's get started!"

Sparkle from District 1 is first. She's wearing a gown made entirely of clear gems, and her silver blonde hair falls in perfect curls. One look at her and it's obvious what she is trying to be: sexy. And she nails it.

Then it's her district partner, Glam. He is wearing a tuxedo that is silver and sparkles in the light of the Capitol. He portrays confidence; I really don't think it's an act at all, which frightens me a bit.

Then it's time for District 2. Elesa is up and is wearing a stunning gray gown with a slit up one leg. She is definitely showing sexy as well, but she has a toughness that shows through as well.

Then Brycen of 2 is up. There is one word that perfectly describes him: brutal. He is a complete killing machine, I can tell now.

Then Clair from 3 is interviewed. She is wearing a yellow dress that seems to have electrical currents flowing through it that you can see. She is coming across as shy.

Then her district partner Draco is up wearing a matching suit. He is definitely going for humorous, and succeeds at keeping the crowd laughing.

Next is Iris from 4 in a flowing gown that seems like the ocean is on it. She displays being sophisticated.

Cress, also from 4 goes next. His suit his all black and he has a shirt on under that is the exact color of the ocean. He goes for confident and definitely succeeds.

Next is that girl Angela from 5. She is wearing a bright red gown and her hair is perfectly curled. She is quite obviously going for sly and it adds to the reasons I don't like her. She's conniving in my opinion. And she's from the science district, so she is definitely smart. She is one to watch out for in the games.

But her district partner, Morty, is the complete opposite. He is super shy and gives as short an answer as possible. He looks awkward and out of place wearing a black suit with red shirt underneath.

The girl from 6 is next. Jasmine is wearing a white gown that compliments her figure. She is being humble. Being thankful for even being in the Capitol, all of the nice food, the fabulous outfits.

Her partner Carlos is next. He is just wearing a simple white suit. He is going for silly and I can tell that it's quite normal for him. He has the crowd laughing the entire time at his silliness.

He walks back and I realize that I'm next. I take a deep breath and walk up to the seat.

"Lauren, the dress you are wearing is beautiful. So, you volunteered for a 12 year old back in District 7. Can you tell us a bit about her and why you volunteered?"

"Well," I begin, "her name is Rosalinda. She's my best friend's little sister. She practically is a sister to me. I was so scared for her when her name was called. But the worse was seeing her sister Alessandra. She couldn't do anything since she just recently turned 19, and I could see it was tearing her apart. So I volunteered to save her life."

"That is so sweet. Now a pretty girl like you must have a boy waiting for you back home. Any details?" she asks eagerly.

I laugh and start to answer her, "I do have a boyfriend, Chris. He is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me." I can hear the crowd going aww about my response.

"So here's what you do: you win the games so you can go back and be happy with him. Now can you tell me a bit about your family and what it's like to be with your brother in the games?"

"It's just myself, Kendall, and our adopted brother James. My father died when I was only three, so I don't really remember him. But my mother died only two years ago, which was pretty tough to deal with. And it's the worst being here with Kendall, knowing that if I were to win the games, that means he is dead." At this point my eyes are starting to water. "And then I think about James at home, all by himself, facing the possibility of losing both his brother and sister. It's really hard to deal with."

Most of the crowd is in tears listening to me talk about my family. The buzzer goes off and I head back to my seat. But not before a tear falls.

Kendall goes up to do his interview next. He completely has control of the crowd. They are laughing with him, and they are sad with him. But then Claudia asks the question I've been dreading.

"So Kendall, why exactly did you volunteer for the boy who was originally picked? He seemed like he could handle the games."

"I did it all for Lauren. That was her boyfriend who was picked. I see how happy he makes her every day and how much he genuinely cares about her. I knew that it would tear her apart if he was in the games with her. If she were to win, he would be dead and she would have lost the love of her life. So I did what I have done my entire life: I protected my baby sis and volunteered for Chris. I know there is a good chance that I won't win, but I believe that Lauren has the potential to win. And I just want to give her the chance for a happy future with Chris if she wins. A future where she can marry him and have a family of her own one day."

I thought I had made the crowd sad. But the entire crowd is sobbing right now, so touched by the story of my brother sacrificing his life so I can have a happy future if I win. The buzzer goes off and he returns to his seat. I take his hand and hold it for the rest of the time.

Even Claudia is in tears as she brings up the next tribute, Gabriella from 8. She looks beautiful in her purple dress, which complements her pale skin and black hair. But I can tell she's frightened; I'm not sure if this is just an act to gain sympathy, or if she is truly scared. Probably she really is scared.

Lucius walks up wearing a purple suit. He doesn't need to act at all, he is just his normal happy self.

The district 9 girl, Erika, is next. She is wearing black dress, which I'm guessing is to reflect the coal from her district. She is caring, worrying about her family, even the other tributes.

Her district partner, Brock, then walks up wearing a plain black suit. He is about has smart as a bag of rocks. I guess that's why he got a 4 in training.

Next is Whitney from 10, wearing a green dress that is the very color of the grass they herd their animals on. She's very nice towards Claudia and all of the Capitol people, complementing them on their buildings, styles, food, and more.

Then it's Falkner in a green suit. He is very distant, giving short answers that leaves the Capitol crowd wanting to know more about him.

Finally, it's cute little Skyla from District 11. She is wearing a light pink dress with apple blossoms printed all over. She even has a couple blossoms in her hair. She is just cute for her interview, and I can tell that she is making the crowd fall in love with her. Good for her, not for me.

Then lastly, it is Blaine. He has a light pink suit on with a single apple blossom in his pocket. He's so large and tough looking that he makes wearing pink not seem wimpy. I'm definitely going to avoid him in the arena.

We all stand for the anthem, and I put a smile on my face, trying to impress the crowd one last time. We walk back into the building, and I meet up with Logan, Camille, Cresselia, and Stefan. I get a hug from all of them except Stefan, but I think I did well from the look on his face.

We go up to our floor and my prep team is there already waiting for us. Calpurnia, Icilius, and Emboria see me and hug me. They start rambling on and on about the interview, saying how pretty I looked, how I made them feel, and then how Kendall made them sob.

We sit down and have dinner. We have a happy conversation and then it's time to go to sleep. But first, I have to say goodbye to Stefan and Cresselia since I won't see them in the morning. I give Cresselia a hug and thank her for everything she has done. Then I turn towards Stefan. "Alright Stefan, this is goodbye until I get out of the arena. Try not to mess anything up with sponsors so I have a good chance of surviving."

"Please," he says. "I bet the sponsors are already lining up, waiting to help you out. All I have to do is take their money and put it towards a gift for you or Kendall. Not too hard to mess up that up."

"Whatever," I say and leave the room. I walk down the hallway to my room and see Kendall waiting for me. "Hey, so tomorrow is finally the day. Make sure that you don't get involved in the bloodbath, just grab a couple knives and a pack, and get out of there. I'll meet up with you after I get myself a few axes."

I think he can see through my words and knows that I plan to battle for a bit in the bloodbath. "Lauren, don't fight in the bloodbath. It will be too easy for you to be hurt or killed."

"Kendall, I can handle myself." Now I was just getting annoyed. "Why do you always treat me like I'm a little kid? I'm not 10 anymore. I can fight for myself. And you can't control what I do during the games. So I am going to fight for a bit in the bloodbath, get the stuff we need, then get out of there. If you still want to be allies with me, that's fine. I'll meet you somewhere safe. If not, I'll go with Gabriella and Lucius, and you can go with Angela. Just watch your back around her." And with that, I go into my room and slam the door shut.

I try to fall asleep, but I just toss and turn for most of the night. At some point in the morning, Logan comes to take me to the arena. We walk out onto the roof and stepped onto the ladder for the hovercraft. I was frozen to it and lifted up. A Capitol attendant injects a tracking device in my left arm, and then I was unfrozen. Then I sit down, and wait to arrive at the Launch Room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

After flying for around a half hour, the windows go black, indicating we are almost to the arena. We arrive a few minutes later, and we're lowered to below the arena.

We walk into the Launch Room. I take a quick shower. Logan helps me get dressed into the outfit all of the tributes are given.

I am wearing brown khaki pants, a maroon short sleeved shirt, a thick belt, a black jacket, and a pair of sneakers. The sneakers feel like they will be good for running in.

"Ok, so based on this outfit, I would say you might face a variety of temperatures, possibly warm days with cold nights. The sneakers are good for running in. The belt should be good for storing weapons," Logan says, trying to help me out one last time before the games. "One last thing," he says and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out the necklace Rosalinda had given to me for a token, and he places it around my neck.

We have some time before launch, so Logan and I sit and talk. I eat some food and drink a lot of water, since who knows when I will find a source of water.

Then a lady announces that it is time for launch. I walk over towards the metal platform, suddenly nervous. I give Logan a hug goodbye, then step onto the platform. A tube comes over me, and I put on my game face. I am being raised up, and I am covered in darkness. After a few seconds of darkness, I am suddenly hit with light. And I get my first view of the arena.

The first thing I see is the glistening golden cornucopia surrounded by weapons and packs. Then I look to my left and I see a vast forest, similar to the ones at home. The forest stretches all along the left side and in front of me. To my right, there is a lake with fields of grass behind it, and I just hope that this is not the only source of water in the games. I turn around and see a looming mountain. I'm going to stay away from there since it doesn't look like there is much coverage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the booming voice of Gustavo Templesmith rings over the arena. "Let the 124th Hunger Games begin!"

Sixty seconds. That's how long I have to wait before I can run to the weapons. I look for Kendall and see him several places to the right of me. I mouth the word forest so he knows where to go to meet up. I get ready to run to the pile. Then the gong rings.

I sprint right away and grab a large pack as I am running, trying to make it to the axes. I grab several axes and pick up some knives. By now, almost everyone is here. The careers have started to kill people mercilessly. I see Iris take out the boy Draco from District 3 with a knife.

Suddenly, Clair, the girl from 3 is running towards me with her spear. I'm not ready to defend myself because my hands are full, but suddenly she falls forward, with a knife protruding from her back. I see Kendall with a handful of knives, and realize he just saved me. I tuck a few knives into my belt to get ready to leave.

I see the twelve year old Morty reaching to grab a pack, and Brycen, the cruel Career from 2, slice completely through his waist with a sword. Blaine, from 11, takes out the idiot Brock from 9 who doesn't even have a weapon to defend himself.

The ground is starting to become slick with the blood from dead tributes. Angela swings her malice and takes out a small boy. I'm about to run to the forest when I see a girl crying over the boy Angela killed. Oh no, I think. The boy she killed was Lucius, and Gabriella is going to get herself killed by just sitting there.

The Careers are starting to disperse, to kill off any stragglers. I need to get out of there now. I see the girl Jasmine from 6 start to run towards Gabriella. Without thinking, I run towards her and strike her in the head with my ax.

I pull on Gabriella's arm, forcing her to get up. "C'mon, we have to get out of her now, or we'll be next," I shout at her. I'm starting to panic since the Careers are starting to run towards us. This seems to motivate her and we run into the forest.

We keep running for a while without stopping, trying to put enough distance between us and the Careers. I realize we aren't being pursued after a while, and I stop Gabriella so we can rest for a bit.

I go through what supplies we have, while Gabriella breaks down and cries. I let her have this moment to herself; she watched her best friend be killed, and she couldn't do anything to save him. Seeing her so distressed makes me vow to myself to kill Angela whenever I get the opportunity.

I sort all of our weapons first. I grabbed 6 knives, some that will be good for throwing and some for close combat. I have three axes, one is pure metal, one is double sided, and the last one is wood with a metal head. Just like my one at home. Gabriella managed to grab a spiked club and two knives before Lucius was killed and she started crying.

We have two packs: my large one and a medium sized one she grabbed. Mine has a sleeping bag, a basic first aid kit, a container for water that's empty, some wire, and dried beef. Gabriella's pack contains a pair of socks, crackers, a small water container, and matches. This should be good for keeping us alive, and the wire will be useful for setting snares for food.

She has finally calmed down a bit and helps me repack the bags. Then I place my knives in my belt, along with two of the axes. She takes her knives and does the same thing.

"So I think the first thing we need to do is find a source of water other than the lake," I say. "We won't last long out here without water. And we need to find somewhere to sleep. It will probably be best to sleep in the trees where there is more concealment." She nods her head in consent and we begin walking.

I don't know how long we walked for, but we finally found a stream. We filled our containers and set about for our second goal: a place to sleep. I find a tree with branches that are low enough to be able to climb up. I set up a couple of snares, in hopes that we can catch something.

We find a good branch to sleep on, and I get the sleeping bag out for us to share. We lean against the tree trunk as it is starting to get dark out. Then we wait to see who died today.

"So do you know what happened to Kendall today?" she asks. I knew this question would come up eventually.

"The last time I saw him was during the bloodbath when he threw a knife into a girl's back to save me," I say and sigh. "Right now, as long as he isn't dead, he is probably with that stupid girl Angela."

Gabriella's face becomes a blank slate. "You mean, your brother is with the girl who killed Lucius?" I can tell that she is clearly upset about this.

"Hey," I say in a gentle voice. "If it makes you feel any better, I haven't liked her from the beginning. And when I saw her kill Lucius and how upset you became, I promised myself that I would kill her." This brings a smile to her face.

And then the anthem starts playing. The first face that is shown is the girl Clair from District 3. The one who tried to kill me but Kendall killed her first. Then the boy Draco from 3. The boy Morty from 5. The girl Jasmine from 6. I don't know why but seeing her face puts a horrible feeling in my stomach. Then they show Lucius. Gabriella lets out a quiet sob beside me as the reality that he is truly gone hits her. The boy Brock from 9 is shown. Then the anthem is playing and the Capitol seal is shown again. And the sky goes dark.

So Kendall made it through the first day. But so did all of the Careers. I lay down in the sleeping bag and Gabriella tucks herself next to me. She falls asleep shortly, but sleep just won't come to me. I keep thinking about the girl Jasmine.

And then it hit me why I was feeling like this. She was my first kill. I didn't even think about the fact that she is a human being when I killed her. Didn't even think about her family back home, who surely is wishing for my death right now. What is happening to me? These games are completely changing me.

I am becoming a monster. A monster who doesn't give a second thought about killing people. I'm becoming a Career.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

Brycen's POV:

We woke up in the early morning to go hunt for tributes. We, as in myself and the other Careers. We split into groups and we go into different areas of the arena. Elesa and I go into the forest to the west; Iris and Cress search the mountain; and Sparkle and Glam check the northern forest and near the lake.

Elesa and I walk for about an hour. Then, in the distance, I see the remains of a fire. Which means there is most likely a tribute nearby.

We get our weapons ready and quietly approach the fire. Sure enough, there are two tributes sleeping near it. Some people really are not smart when it comes to playing the games.

I motion Elesa forward to the girl and boy. I'm feeling generous, so she can make the first kill. She walks up to the girl, I think Erika is her name, and looks at her array of knives. She picks a long slender one. She crouches next to the girl and places the knife on her throat. The girl wakes up and starts to let out a scream, but it becomes a gurgle as Elesa swipes the knife across her throat. The boom of the cannon signals her death.

The boy was awakened by the girl's scream, and makes an attempt to run, but I grab him in a headlock. He starts to struggle as I slowly choke him to death.

"What's wrong, little boy?" I begin to taunt. "I guess little Carlos isn't going to make it back to his mommy in District 6." And then I snap his neck.

I drop his body as the second cannon goes off. I start to walk away with Elesa right behind me. Eight down, thirteen more to go, I think. Thirteen more to die before I am crowned victor.

Lauren's POV:

I awake with a start as I hear the cannon go off. I look beside me to make sure Gabriella is still there and safe. She was also awakened by it.

"Who do you think it was?" she asks tentatively.

"I'm not sure. But it was probably the Careers hunting people. Which means we can't stay here for long," I say.

We start to pack up our stuff and I can't help but wonder if it was Kendall. Then another cannon goes off. It was most likely a pair of tributes who were allies. This makes me worry because I know Kendall is probably with Angela. What if it was those two who were killed?

I'm starting to get panicky and I almost scream when Gabriella touches my arm. "Hey are you ok?" she asks. I shake my head no. "You're worried that it was Kendall that was killed, aren't you? Well, I highly doubt that it was him. He seems like he has good survival skills. In fact, he is probably hidden right now, worrying that it was you. So how about we get moving to a new tree? We can check your snares and look for some plants to eat to."

I agree and we jump down from the branches. I check the snares I set the night before, and out of the three snares two had large rabbits in them. "Great, this should last us a couple days," I say. "And I'm sure there's more from where these two came from."

We fill up our containers with water and start to look for some plants, always with a weapon ready. It was a good thing I spent time to learn which plants are edible, because we soon have a large amount of berries and fruit to eat with our rabbits. By time we are done gathering berries, it is midafternoon. So we decide to find another tree.

I find a willow tree and we make camp in its branches, which will be good for concealment. "I'm going to go start a fire to cook the rabbits," I say after I've skinned them. "But I'm going to make it several trees away so if any tributes find it, they won't necessarily find our hiding place."

There are plenty of dry branches, and using a match, I have a fire going in a few minutes. I walk away for a bit, letting it burn and get hot. I set some traps as I walk, hoping I can catch a couple more rabbits. I return to the fire and place the rabbits on a stick and return to the tree while they cook.

We must be a good distance away from the other tributes because no one came near our area because of the fire. So I go back and grab our rabbits when they are done cooking. I cover the fire with dirt since it is getting dark, and a fire will definitely attract tributes during the night.

Gabriella and I settle down into the sleeping bag for the night, each with our own rabbit, and wait for the dead tributes to be shown.

After a little while of quiet, Gabriella speaks up. "You're still worried that Kendall was killed this morning."

Not even a question. I've been with this girl for only a little over a day, and she already knows me well. "Yeah," I say quietly. "But I think I'm going to worry every time I hear a cannon that it is him. I'm just scared for my brother."

She opens her mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the anthem being played. The Capitol seal is in the sky. Ok, I think, this is the moment when I find out if he is alive or not.

First, the boy Carlos from 6 is being shown. Then it is the girl Erika from 9. I let out a breath, not realizing that I had been holding my breath. So Kendall is still out there, fighting to stay alive.

We eat a few berries and some fruit, and save the rest of them and the rabbits for breakfast. I get comfy inside the sleeping bag, and so does Gabriella. I fall asleep shortly, feeling very content having a full belly and knowing that Kendall is still alive.

I am running through the woods, trying to chase after the boy. I run out into the clearing and see him on the opposite side. The boy is Kendall I realize, and he is walking with Angela. He is slightly in front of her, so he doesn't see her pull out a knife and raise it. I start to run towards him to stop her, but I can't make it in time. I see her stab Kendall in the back.

I wake up in a jolt, looking around frantically for Kendall. It was just a nightmare, I realize. Gabriella is still sleeping soundly next to me. There are only a few rays of light shining through the trees, so it must be early morning. I decide to let her sleep, since I see no point in moving.

I just lay there, thinking about everyone I care for. Kendall is somewhere in this arena, maybe even fighting for his life at this very moment. James is probably just waking up to get the shop ready for a day of business. No doubt he has the tv on, watching the games, worrying about Kendall and I. Chris is going to be walking up soon, to go to school. He'll be seeing recaps of whatever he misses during lunch. Alessandra will be starting to get things ready for Dorian and Rosalinda, and then probably help James around the shop and watch the games. Then there is Logan, my wonderful stylist, who is probably in the Capitol watching the games, hoping I make it out. And finally, there's Stefan, who is in the control room with the other mentors, collecting money from sponsors and deciding what gifts to give us.

I realize that around an hour has passed, just thinking about my family and friends. I decide to wake up Gabriella so we can start moving. After she is awake, I get down from the tree to look at the snares while she packs up everything. I've caught three more rabbits, so we'll have plenty of food.

We go to the stream and fill up our water containers. We have a small breakfast of the leftover berries and rabbits. Since we have seen no tributes yet, I decide to make a fire by the stream and cook the new rabbits. Gabriella gathers more berries. We spend the day sitting in our tree, talking, and eating food.

Evening has come, and we start to get ready to go to sleep. The sky fades into darkness and the anthem starts playing. No tributes are shown in the sky. No deaths today, I think. The Capitol audience will be starting to get bored. It's likely that the gamemakers will unleash some horrible way of death upon us tomorrow. Anything to bring more excitement to the games.

I decide to go to sleep shortly. There is no way I want to possibly be faced with some horror tomorrow being exhausted.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

Skyla's POV:

I heard a piercing scream coming nearby. And the voice made my blood freeze. How is my sister in the arena and what is making her scream in pain? Unconsciously, I start running towards the scream. I break through the woods into a small clearing.

I see fourteen creatures that look like cats except they stand well over 4 feet. Mutts. Several of them a walking away, except one has jumped on a boy. I recognize him as the boy Falkner from 10 right before the mutt bites at his throat. His cannon goes off and the mutt disappears into a hole. All of the mutts have left the clearing except for one.

It's staring right at me and is growling. It opens its mouth and let's out the scream I thought was my sister. Then it runs towards me. I throw a knife at it and it lands in its shoulder, but doesn't stop it. It takes a swipe at my leg with its four-inch claws, making deep wounds. I scream out in pain and start stabbing at it. I manage to stab it right in the neck and it falls over dead.

My leg is bleeding badly and I can't walk on it. I drag myself into a nearby bush to try to hide.

Elesa's POV:

I am hunting down tributes in the morning. I already came across a giant cat mutt that let out the scream of my mother. I quickly shot it with a bow and arrow before it could attack me with its razor-sharp claws or teeth. Since no other mutts attacked me, I realized that there are one for each tribute. So since I killed mine, I don't have to worry about them anymore.

I'm walking quietly deeper into the forest. I notice a trail of blood on the ground. I kneel down and touch it. Still fresh. I follow the trail with my eyes and notices that it leads directly into a nearby bush. I pull an arrow out of my sheath and load my bow. I pull the string back slowly and point right at the bush. Then I let it fly.

A girl lets out a short scream and then her cannon goes off. I go to her body and pull out my arrow. It's the girl from 11, but I don't really care. It's one less tribute left in the arena.

I walk away to go hunt for my next target.

Lauren's POV:

I wake up suddenly when Gabriella covers my mouth with her hand. She quietly points down to the ground below our tree. Thinking it's a tribute, I get a knife out to throw.

I look down and see two giant cats stalking our tree. They clearly know we are up here. Mutts, I mouth at Gabriella. She gets a knife out as well. One of the cats opens up its mouth and I hear the sound of Kendall screaming.

No, I think. How could they get that scream. I am in a daze and I hear the whiz of a knife flying through the air. The scream is cut off in a gurgle.

"Lauren? Lauren, are you ok? It was just a mutt! It's supposed to target your weaknesses! That was not really Kendall!" Gabriella is frantically shaking me, trying to get me out of my trance. I shake my head and look at her. I give her a smile to let her know I'm ok now.

Then the other mutt starts screaming, except this time it's Lucius' voice. I don't hesitate to throw an ax and decapitate it. But it has already done its job. Gabriella is sitting next to me sobbing. I pull her into a hug and just comfort her for a while.

After a little bit, I climb down the tree to collect our weapons. I climb back up and we eat some rabbit. After, we pack up to get moving since the mutts made too much noise near our tree.

I hit the ground quietly and look around for any tributes. Seeing nobody, I motion for Gabriella to come down. We get our packs on and are about to start walking when I hear the scream from another mutt. It's nobody I know, but it's close. Which means the tribute it's meant for is close as well.

"Run," I say quietly and we take off in the opposite direction of the scream. But I can hear the sound of someone crashing through the trees. "Hurry! Climb up that tree!"

We start climbing as quickly as possible. We are about halfway up the tree when we see Cress slowly walking past. We stay absolutely silent and don't move at all. He doesn't realize we are up in the tree. He must think we are hiding somewhere on the ground. Luckily, he keeps walking past.

I wait awhile, and make sure that he is out of earshot before I say anything. "That," I say, "was extremely close. Too close for my taste." She nods her head in agreement.

"Let's just stay here for the rest of the day," she suggests. "I don't want to go walking around on the ground in case he is still nearby."

So we set up camp in a sturdy forked branch. We just sit and talk quietly for the rest of the evening. A couple times we hear another scream of a mutt, but it is nowhere near our tree.

Night is finally falling, and then the anthem appears in the sky. First the boy Falkner from District 10 is shown. Then Skyla from 11. Then the seal appears again and the sky goes dark.

"Lauren," Gabriella whispers. "I'm scared to go to sleep. I'm worried the gamemakers are going to send in some new terror during the night."

"I don't think they will because they had quite a bit of action today, but if it makes you feel better, we can take shifts being on guard duty. I'll take first shift," I say.

"Thanks Lauren," she says, and tucks herself down into the sleeping bag. She is asleep in a few minutes.

I stay awake for several hours, but nothing happens. I decide to not wake Gabriella up for watch. At some point, I fell asleep, but nothing happened in the night to wake me up.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Gabriella's POV:

I wake up in the morning and see that Lauren is asleep. I frown, as I realize that she never woke me up for my shift of watching.

I wake her up and we eat the last bit of the rabbits and berries. "We're going to have to get some more food today," I say.

We pack up and climb down the tree, alert for any tributes that might be nearby. No one shows up, so we head to the stream to get more water. "Alright," Lauren begins, "I'll hunt down some more rabbits and you can gather berries. But we'll stay within earshot, so if either of us is in trouble, the other will know. Just keep your weapon out and ready." I nod and walk in the opposite direction of Lauren.

After walking for a bit, I find a small clearing filled with berries. I start picking them and I hear a rustling coming from the woods behind me. "Oh good, you're here Lauren. You can help me pick all of these berries." I turn around with a smile on my face, expecting to see Lauren. I see a blonde girl standing there, but it's not Lauren.

Lauren' POV:

I am about to kill a rabbit when I hear a piercing scream. Oh no, I think. I start running towards the scream. "Gabriella!" I scream as I am almost at the clearing.

I burst through the trees and see Gabriella lying on the ground, clutching a large gash on her stomach that is bleeding profusely. Standing over her, is Sparkle, still holding the bloody sword, watching Gabriella bleed to death.

I throw my ax at her in a way that completely cuts off her head. Her cannon goes off and I run to Gabriella. I hold her in my arms as the tears flow freely. "No you can't die! Don't leave me by myself."

"Lauren," she says weakly. "Thank you. Thank you for everything these last few days." She shudders and then the cannon goes off. She's gone, gone for good now.

I stand up shakily and wipe my tears away. I have to be strong for Gabriella now. I grab her pack and her knives, knowing she would want me to have it. I grab the food from Sparkle's bag and the couple knives she had. I leave the sword, knowing I will have no use for it.

Once I have everything in my pack and the knives tucked in my belt, I get ready to leave the clearing. I walk to the edge of the forest and turn around to look at Gabriella one last time. "Goodbye," I whisper and walk into the forest.

I don't even care about the other tributes. Let them find me. I will take down every single one. I find a tree to sleep in, and I put the packs on a good branch. I start a fire beneath the tree to cook the rabbit I had killed before I heard Gabriella scream. I don't care if a tribute sees the fire, I'll kill them if they get near.

After the rabbit is cooked, I climb back up the tree to eat it. I sort through the packs, and put whatever is useful in my large one. I throw the other pack into the fire. No point in keeping it.

I lay in my sleeping bag, eating berries for the rest of the evening. Then the anthem is playing. First Sparkle is shown because she was from District 1. Then Gabriella is shown. One tear escapes from my eye. The Capitol seal is shown and the sky goes dark.

I start to fall asleep. Before I do, I promise myself that tomorrow I will go find Kendall. I don't want to have to go through a day of the games by myself.

Cress' POV:

It was only the morning of the sixth day, and already there were only ten left. Iris and I want to leave the Career pack, since we make up half of the remaining tributes.

"Brycen, I'm just suggesting that we split up now versus later," Iris is trying to get Brycen to see reason, but it's not going so well.

"No! You will stay in this pack until I say so!" I look at Iris and tell her with my eyes what I can't say out loud. There is no chance of reasoning with him. But we are still going to leave.

"Whatever, Brycen. Cress and I are leaving." Iris turned to start walking away and didn't see Brycen raise up his spear and thrust it into her stomach. I turned to run away while I can. I hear the cannon go off signaling Iris' death. I guess I am on my own now.

I ran onto the mountain, hoping Brycen wouldn't decide to pursue me at this moment.

Lauren's POV:

I was woken up by the sound of a cannon going off. Good, that means one less tribute. Maybe I'll be lucky and it was one of the Careers that was killed.

I eat some rabbit and berries. I jump down from the tree and land crouched down. I stand up slowly with an ax in hand and a determined look on my face. The Capitol will surely be showing me right now, wanting to know what I will do now since Gabriella was killed yesterday. I hope they think I am ready to kill anyone right now. I want them to want me to win.

I head into the forest to find Kendall. I walk all day with no signs of him. I guess you can't really find someone if they don't want to be found.

It was late evening, and I still haven't found him. I guess I'll just go in a tree for the night and continue my search for him tomorrow. I see a good willow tree about 50 yards away, and I decide that it will be my tree for the night. I get to about a tree away and I see Kendall and Angela sitting about 50 feet from the willow tree. Good, I think, now I don't have to find him in the morning.

I decide to show myself in the morning because I don't feel like showing myself right now. I crawl up in my tree quietly to not expose myself.

The anthem is playing again. Only Iris from 4 is shown. Good, one more Career down. I settle down into my sleeping back for the night. And tomorrow I'll finally be able to be allies with Kendall.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

I wake up in the early morning. I look over to where Kendall and Angela were sitting the night before. They are still there. Kendall is sitting down facing the other direction, obviously on guard duty. Angela is laying down sleeping.

I wait a little bit before starting to silently pack my bag. It's about time I go show myself to them. I am just about done and I'm taking an ax out to have ready in my hand. Always best to be safe. Angela is sitting up, but it looks like Kendall hasn't realized she is up yet.

I see her raise her hand up behind Kendall, and my eye catches a glint from it. She has a knife in her hand! That bitch is going to stab my brother in the back, just like I thought from the beginning. I throw my ax towards her and I am satisfied when I hear the thud when it hits her in the back. She falls forward and hits the ground with the knife still in her hand. The cannon goes off.

Kendall is startled when he hears her hit the ground, and seeing she is dead, he pulls out a knife ready for the attacker to come out. Then he realizes that it is an ax in her back. "Lauren?" he says hesitantly. "I know you're out there."

I hop down from the tree and start walking towards him. "You know, she was about ready to stab you in the back. Like I told you from the beginning. You're lucky I was in a tree nearby."

"Why were you watching us from a tree nearby?" he asks. Leave it to him to care more about the fact I was watching them nearby then the fact that I just saved his life.

"I was planning on joining you as an ally," I say as I pull my ax out of Angela's back. "I've been in that tree since last night. I was searching for you all day yesterday, and I had picked that tree to sleep in before I saw you. I figured I would just show myself to you two in the morning because I was tired. It's a good thing I waited until this morning."

"Ok so now you're here. And now we'll be allies. I'm curious, why exactly were you looking for me? I figured you would be sitting in a tree somewhere waiting for tributes to walk past."

I look away as my eyes start to water. "I was with another tribute for the first five days, Gabriella from 8. I had saved her from being killed at the bloodbath because she was sitting there crying about Lucius being killed by Angela, and I pulled her along with me. We ran into the forest and worked together to get a lot of food. We stayed in the trees. Two days ago, we were looking for food. I was rabbit hunting and she was gathering berries. The girl from 1, Sparkle, found Gabriella when we weren't together. I heard her scream and ran towards her. But by time I got there, it was too late. Sparkle had stab her in the stomach. I threw my ax at her and cut her head off. I held Gabriella in my arms as she bled to death." By now, the tears are flowing freely. "So I decided to find you, because I didn't want to be all by myself."

Kendall pulls me into a hug and just lets me cry on his shoulder. "Shh, it's ok Lauren, you're with me now. I'll protect you."

We stay like that for a few minutes, but we are interrupted. A silver parachute is floating down right in front of us. "I guess Stefan has finally decided to give me something," I say and laugh. "Has he given you anything?"

"No, he hasn't," he says with an angry look. "Well we might as well see what it is."

We open up the package and inside is a large bowl of rice, chicken stew with mandarin oranges in it, and a giant pot full of hot chocolate. All delicious Capitol food. My stomach let out a loud growl as I smelled the food. We laugh and decide to go sit in my tree and eat it.

We spend the day talking about what had happened during the games, and other random stuff. And eat some of the delicious food. I find out that Kendall came across his mutt and it's scream was me. Clearly the Capitol realizes how much we care for each other.

After a while, when it was early evening, a thought dawns on me. "Hey, I just realized, it's the final eight. That means they were probably doing the interviews of our family and friends today."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the interviews," he says. "Who is left anyways?"

"Well there's us obviously," I begin. "Out of the Careers only two are dead; there is Glam from 1, Elesa and Brycen from 2, and Cress from 4. Then there is Blaine from 11. There's one other person, but I can't remember who."

Kendall thinks about it for a few minutes. "Oh! I know who! It's that girl from 10. What's her name now?"

"Something with a W," I say. I try to think about what her name is. "Oh it's Whitney! I completely forgot about her, but that's because she didn't impress me at all before the games."

So there's only eight tributes left. Seven more to die before someone is crowned victor.

Since it's late evening by now, we decide to get comfortable for the night. We pack up the remaining food from our gift, and lay in the sleeping bag. I snuggle up against him, glad to feel safe in my brother's arms.

The Capitol seal lights up the sky. The only face shown tonight is Angela. I'm glad that she is gone, that backstabber.

I fall asleep shortly after, and dream about the trees back home.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

Whitney's POV:

So far I have been able to survive the games by completely staying away from the other tributes. I've been living on the different fruit and berries in the forest. I don't dare catch a rabbit and cook it, a fire would bring too much attention.

I'm honestly surprised I've survived this long. I even made it to the final eight! I had thought for sure I wouldn't make it past the first few days. But here I am, day eight and still alive.

I am walking to find a new tree to stay in; I've been trying to keep moving every day. I pass by a tree with one of the fruits I've been eating the entire time. I grab one and take a bite into it, and keep walking. A few seconds later, I fall to the ground.

Lauren's POV:

Kendall and I are sitting in our tree, eating some of the food we received yesterday. We are talking about everyone back home.

"How do you think James is holding up right now?" I ask. "He's probably sitting there pulling his hair out over the stress of us both being here."

Kendall gasps. "James, pulling out the hair he works so hard at to make perfect?" We start laughing at his joke, but are interrupted by a cannon going off.

I frown slightly, deep in thought. Another tribute has died. Kendall notices my frown and tries to cheer me up. "Hey, just think, Lauren. One less tribute until the games are over!" he says. He has a point, but still, if one of us makes it out, then that means the other is dead.

"I wonder who it was," I say quietly, mostly to myself. But I won't know until later.

Kendall and I decide to set some snares for rabbits near our tree, since our food is starting to get low. We end up catching four rabbits. I skin them and make a fire to cook them. I figure we can save whatever we don't eat now for later.

We stay in our tree since there is no need to move. We eat our food and talk about random stuff. I'm so happy to be with Kendall and talking to him, that I didn't even notice it was evening already.

We sit back against the tree and wait for the sky to get dark and for the dead tribute to be shown. I lean my head on his shoulder, feeling completely at ease.

Finally, the anthem is playing with the Capitol seal being shown. Then Whitney's face is up in the sky. The seal returns and the sky goes dark. I fall asleep shortly after.

I wake up late in the morning. Kendall is already awake. We are starting to get low on water, so I decide to head to the stream to fill up our containers.

I jump down the branches and land softly on the ground. I keep my ax ready, because you never know when you might come across a tribute. I walk a couple trees away, and I hear the sound of a branch being broken.

I get behind the nearest tree. The sound came from past the tree Kendall is in. It's definitely another tribute. I sneak a quick peek past my tree and see that it is Glam, and he is walking right towards me. Oh no he's seen me. But wouldn't he be running towards me if he had seen me? Maybe he didn't.

He is almost to my tree, I can tell by the breaking branches under every foot step. He really doesn't care about how much noise he makes. But why would you, if you were a Career who feels completely comfortable with their strength?

He walks past me tree without noticing me. Now's the chance to kill him. I leap out from behind the tree with my ax above my head. He hears me and turns around in time to stop my ax with his sword. We start fighting, neither side making any hits to the other.

I think he is going to attack on my left side, and prepare to stop the sword on that side. But he is feinting, and he takes a swing with his sword towards my arm.

I scream out in complete agony and fall to the ground on my knees. Burning pain. That's all I can feel from the stump that used to be where my right hand was. It's starting to gush blood, and all I can do is stare at it.

Glam raises his sword above his head dramatically. This is it, I guess. Looks like I won't be winning the games. Hopefully Kendall will win. Wait, Kendall is still in the tree! Maybe he can save me!

But Glam is starting to bring his sword down. I see everything in slow motion. The sword slowly coming down on me. I close my eyes, just wanting him to get it over with. But suddenly he is coughing, and some warm substance hits my face. I peek out of one eye and see Glam has fallen down, with a knife protruding from his neck right where his jugular is. A cannon goes off, meaning he is dead.

I fall over from the pain in my arm. It's too much to bare. Kendall is running towards me. "Lauren! You're going to be fine, I'll help you!"

"Kendall, who are you trying to kid about me being alright?" I quietly say. "I just had my hand freaking cut off! And you say I'm going to be alright." I laugh I tiny bit. "Ok just grab my ax and get me to the tree. I have a medical kit in my bag."

He does as I say and carries me to the tree. He leans me against it and he climbs up and gets the medical kit. He hurriedly climbs back down. "Ok so it looks like we have some bandages and some basic pain killers. Here, take these," he says and hands me two pills. I put them in my mouth and he brings a bottle of water up to my mouth so I can swallow them.

He starts to wrap up the stump with bandages. I cringe in pain every time he tightens the bandage. Damn, this hurts!

I swear loudly as he tightly ties the final knot. "I'm so sorry Lauren, for all of this pain. But that's the best I can do with what we have." The look on his face clearly shows what he won't say: it's bad, and if I don't get better treatment for it soon, I'll die from it.

He carries me up into the tree, and places me in the sleeping bag. The pain is just unbearable right now.

I lay there for who knows how long, trying to fight through the pain. Kendall is changing my bandages again. Then I hear a voice I never thought I would hear right now.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Gustavo Templesmith announces. "Tomorrow morning we will be providing a feast for you at the cornucopia. This feast with have something you each desperately need. So you might want to think twice about turning up the offer."

I look over at Kendall and I can tell he's already made up his mind. "No, Kendall. Don't go. You know how much bloodshed there is at feasts."

"I have to, Lauren. You heard what he said, there will be something we each desperately need. I bet it's something to help your arm. I need to get that or you're going to die," he says.

"Don't leave me here by myself. What if a tribute finds me? I won't be able to defend myself." I'm practically begging him to not go.

"Lauren, I'm going. You need that medicine that will surely be there for us."

"Fine," I say and turn away from him. He is going to get himself killed at the feast tomorrow for sure. And then I'll be by myself with no way of defending myself. I'll be as good as dead without him.

The night turns dark and Glam is shown in the sky. No one else. Tomorrow there will be several faces up there.

Kendall is changing the bandages one last time before I go to sleep. "Hey Lauren, I have an idea. How about I go to the cornucopia now to wait inside it so I can be the first to grab our item? That way, I can get out of there before the bloodshed."

It sounds like a pretty good idea, but that means I'll be spending the night by myself. "Alright," I say after thinking about it for a bit. "It sounds like a plan."

He finishes the bandage and gets all of his knives ready. He places some food, a water container, and the pain medicine on a thick branch right near me. "Alright, everything you might need is right here," he says, and places an ax on the pile too. "I'm going to leave now so I can make sure I have enough time. Goodbye Lauren," he says and kisses my forehead. "I love you."

"Love you too," I say, and then he is hoping down the branches. I hear him hit the ground and start running towards the cornucopia. I try to fall asleep, but it takes me several hours before I actually do because the pain is too much.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Kendall's POV:

I leaned against the cool metal of the cornucopia. I was tired out from all the running I did to get to here before the other tributes. But it will be worth it, since I should be able to avoid the bloodshed. And I'll be able to save Lauren.

I rest for a little while, but then the first rays of sun are starting to appear. This is it, it's almost time. The items should be appearing soon.

I get a knife out for safety, and brace myself to start running as soon as the items appear. I don't have to wait much longer.

The table rises out of the ground right in front of the cornucopia. I run out and grab the bag with the number seven and sprint into the forest.

I make it to the forest without any attack from other tributes. Once I'm under the cover of the trees, I turn around to see what is happening at the feast. I see Blaine and Elesa fighting before I turn around and run back to Lauren.

Brycen's POV:

The items had appeared and the boy from seven got his bag already from hiding in the cornucopia. Why didn't I think of that? It was a genius idea.

Elesa and I have decided that she will run to get our bag and any others while I keep a lookout in the forest for the other tributes. Blaine starts running from the mountain directly opposite us, and Elesa starts running towards the bag.

They meet right near the cornucopia and start fighting. I'm not too worried about Elesa, she can handle herself in a fight. Both sides are hitting dangerous blows to the other side: Elesa with her knives and Blaine with a sword. She is dodging all around him, trying to get in a good stab.

But both of them are starting to get weak. They have been hit many times and are losing a lot of blood. I'm starting to think of running in to help when I see Elesa make a well planned out feint. She stabs him in the chest, and he coughs up some blood, then falls to the ground, and the cannon goes off.

Now that Elesa is done fighting, she is aware of how bad her wounds are. She is starting to get a bit wobbly from blood loss. I run out towards her, and catch her as she starts to fall.

She looks up weakly at me, barely being able to keep her eyes open. "Brycen. Make...sure...you win." she says feebly. Her head falls back and the cannon goes off.

I let out a scream in anger. How could this happen to her? I hear laughter coming from my left and I whip my head in the direction. Cress is standing there, with all of the remaining bags in his hand. He makes eye contact with me, then runs off towards the mountain. I immediately get up and start to pursue him, every thought tainted with my lust for his blood.

Lauren's POV:

I wake up in the early morning. I can't sleep with the thought of Kendall being at the feast. I lay around just thinking about things, trying to distract myself from the pain in the stump where my hand was. I look under the bandages to see how bad it was, and immediately regret it. It's starting to become infected quickly.

I lay back, enveloped by the fear of dying slowly and painfully from the infection. Then I hear the first cannon go off. The feast must have started already. I chew on my lip, worrying about Kendall.

I am hoping that he will make it back to me. Another cannon goes off, and he still isn't back. I'm really starting to worry. Then I hear the sound of someone running through the woods.

Kendall stops running right under the tree. I peek over my branch at him, and he holds the bag up for me to see and smiles. He climbs up to the branch I'm on.

"Hey Lauren. It's good to see you," he says while smiling at me. I can't help it, I'm smiling like a fool as well; I'm just so happy he made it back safely. "Now, let's see what the Capitol has been kind enough to give us."

Inside the bag is a few pills, which must be strong pain killers, something in a syringe labeled "for infection", and some kind of special bandage. I reach out and grab one of the pills right away and swallow it dry; the pain has been too much for the last couple of hours. Kendall then sticks the needle in my left arm and gives me the medicine to stop the infection.

He takes off the old bandage and takes the remaining bandages from the first kit and uses it to clean the wound. He looks at the special bandage given by the Capitol, trying to figure out exactly what it does. "I'm not really sure what the bandage will do," he says after examining it for a bit. "I guess the best way to find out is to just put it on."

He gently sets the bandage on the wound and it starts moving. It forms a tight barrier around the wound, to keep out infection. It stays on without the need to tie it or anything. "Hmm, this is fancy," I say as I lift my arm up and look at it. It also looks like it has stopped the bleeding, too. "Wow, the things they invent in the Capitol. So now that you've saved me, I want some food. Then a full rundown of what happened."

He gives me some leftover rabbit to eat and I quickly devour it. He shares the last of the meal we received with me. Now that I have a full belly, I put my full attention on Kendall.

"Ok so I ran for an hour or two after I left you last night to get to the cornucopia," he begins. "I got there with some time before dawn so I rested for a bit inside it. Once I noticed the first rays of light, I got ready to run as soon as I saw the bags. They appeared shortly after and I ran out and grabbed the bag immediately. I sprinted right to the forest, without facing any threat from the other tributes. When I was safely under the cover of the trees, I turned to see what was happening, and I saw Blaine and Elesa fighting. Then I started to run back. I was on an adrenaline rush, so it didn't take me nearly as long to get back as it did to get there. Then I made it back here and saved your life." He finishes and smiles at me.

I can't believe all the trouble Kendall went through to save me. The rest of the day we spend in peace, and no more cannons have gone off. Kendall hunts down some rabbits and cooks them up for dinner. We have just sat back in the sleeping bag to eat our rabbits when the anthem starts playing with the Capitol seal showing. "Here we go," I say. "We'll finally find out who died." First, Elesa is shown. Then it is Blaine. So that means that there are two Careers left and just Kendall and I.

"I bet they're fighting right now," Kendall suddenly says. I give him a confused look. "Brycen and Cress. They are probably fighting. And then whoever wins we'll have to face," he explains.

I don't want to think about this right now, so I eat my rabbit and just sit with my eyes closed, trying to imagine I am back home in the forests of District 7. I soon drift into a peaceful sleep.

We spend the next day laying in the tree. I am trying to regain my strength for the final battle that is sure to happen within a day or two. We just chill and talk. About late afternoon, we hear a cannon go off. Either Brycen and Cress has been killed. We have to wait only a couple of hours for the dead tribute to be shown. Brycen was the one killed today.

"So it all ends tomorrow," I say quietly after the anthem has stopped. "Tomorrow we face Cress, and someone is going home."

"Don't think about it now Lauren. Just get some sleep so you'll be well rested in the morning. I'm sure Cress won't go down without a fight, so it's best you have your strength," Kendall says. I listen to what he says, and fall asleep shortly. But not before one last thought crosses my head.

I might have to kill Kendall if I'm to make it out of the arena, since he surely won't want to be victor. I may have to kill my own brother.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

I wake up the next morning, forgetting where I was. But then I remembered. I am in the Hunger Games. It's day twelve. There are only three tributes left, including myself. Oh and my brother is one of them too. Someone will be victorious tonight, either myself, Kendall, or Cress.

"Hey Kendall," I say and smile. "So are you ready for these games to end today?"

"I've been waiting for these games to end since the beginning. But we can worry about that later. Why don't we eat the remaining food so we can build up some strength?"

I listen to what he says, and divide up the remaining rabbit and berries. We spend some time eating and talking quietly. I finish, and I realize that the Capitol audience will be anticipating the fight that is to happen, so we might as well get it done sooner. "We should probably pack up and head to the cornucopia. I'm sure Cress will find us there," I say.

We pack up everything and get all of our weapons ready. Kendall has seven different knives, five tucked in his belt, and two that he is going to carry. I have six knives and my three axes. I would like to carry two of the axes in my hands, but can't since Glam was so kind as to cut my hand off. I glare down at the stump that is causing me such problems. It really is going to be a disadvantage in the fight only having one hand, especially since it's my left hand.

Kendall has been watching me glare at my arm. "Lauren, don't worry about your arm. I'm sure you'll still be able to fight fine and it will only be a minor setback. Nothing to get all angry about." Once again, he is right.

I sigh and take a painkiller; no point in being in pain from my arm. Everything is all ready to go, so I pull on my pack and start climbing down branches. I am doing good and I am managing to climb down with one hand. I am about four feet above the ground when my foot slips, and I crash to the ground landing right on my butt. Oh it hurt soooo bad. But it was also stupid, so I start laughing.

Kendall climbed down quickly and just got down on the ground to see if I'm alright, and he gives me a weird look. "You didn't hit your head when you fell, did you? Because I see nothing humorous about you slipping and falling out of the tree."

"No I didn't hit my head. And I'm just laughing because it was stupid of myself," I try to explain. He's not getting it, so I just give up. "Whatever, I'm fine. So why don't we get moving and get this thing done?"

He agrees and we start walking. Kendall is leading the way since he recently went to the cornucopia and knows how to get there from our tree. I swing my ax in my hand as I walk, trying to get used to using that hand. It feels weird and awkward. I'm not horrible at using the ax in my left hand, but I'm not nearly as good as I was with my right hand.

We walk for a couple hours, and then we finally make it to the cornucopia around midafternoon. We enter the clearing slowly, looking around for Cress. We don't see him, so I decide to plop my pack down, since it will only get in my way fighting.

We lean against the cornucopia and drink some water. Then we talk for a bit. "So when do you think he is going to show up?" Kendall asks.

"I'm not sure but-" I'm interrupted by a scream coming from the mountain. I see Cress running towards us. This is it, it's do or die time.

We run towards him and meet with the clang of metal on metal. I start fighting him on one side with Kendall on the other. I'm doing everything I can to hurt him, but he has some armor on. Kendall isn't having much luck either.

Cress is managing to defend himself from both of us. He is only using a trident. I take a swing with my ax towards him. He blocks it with his trident, and in the same motion, he turns and stabs Kendall in the stomach. He falls to the ground clutching his stomach and screaming out in pain.

No. I will not let him kill my brother. I start attacking him with a renewed anger. I put every bit of strength I have into attacking him, but it's no use; I can't get a hit in. But I'm not giving up.

I take a swing towards him, and he blocks it, and knocks the ax out of my hand. He hits me across the head with the end of his trident. I fall down to my knees, too dizzy to focus on him. I see him lift the trident above his head. I guess this is how it ends: Cress is going to kill me then finish off Kendall and be the victor. I accept defeat since there is nothing I can do that could save me. I stare at him as he gets ready to kill me. But something distracts me from him momentarily.

I see the flash of silver in the sunlight, and then the crimson of blood flowing from Cress' neck. He falls down clutching his neck, but still fighting to stay alive. Behind him is Kendall, bleeding greatly himself, but holding a knife covered in Cress' blood. But he has fallen back to the ground, even weaker.

He saved me, once again. I stand up shakily, realizing what must be done. I grab another ax from my belt and stand before Cress.

I lift my arm above my head, ready to bring the ax down on my target. I can feel the pure power pulsing through my arm in anticipation for what would happen next, waiting for the swoosh of the ax through the air, the thud on contact. This was the moment I had been waiting for all my life.

I bring my ax down right on his neck. His head falls off, and the cannon goes off. Cress, the most difficult opponent of the games, is finally dead.

I turn my attention to Kendall who is lying on the ground in a puddle of blood. I drop the ax and run over to him. I gently hold him in my arms. "No Kendall, you can't leave me!" I'm starting to cry. I can't help it, I don't want to lose my brother. "Don't leave me here all by myself! I can't live without you," I say in-between sobs.

His face is paler than normal, and I can tell he is weak from all the blood he lost. He smiles up at me, and a tear slips from his eye. "Lauren," he says and coughs. He lifts a bloodied hand up slowly and wipes a tear off of my face. "Don't cry," he says weakly. "Just remember, I..love you," he says feebly. He coughs again and his eyes close. A cannon goes off.

"No no no, Kendall, you can't leave me," I say while sobbing. I sit there crying for a moment in silence but the silence is soon broken. "Ladies and gentlemen, the 124th Hunger Games victor!" Gustavo Templesmith says. The arena is filled with the sounds of the cheers coming from the Capitol. But I barely notice it. All I notice is the still body of my brother laying in my arms, the puddle of his blood around us. My tears are falling onto his face.

I refuse to believe he is gone. But the sound of the crowd prevents me because I know that the only way I would be able to hear them right now was if I won.

I know Kendall wouldn't have wanted me to be mourning over his death like this. Not after I just won. So I must be strong, for Kendall.

I wipe away my tears and stand up proudly and smile. The crowd starts cheering louder. Then a hovercraft appears and drops a ladder down in front of me. I bend down to Kendall and brush his hair to the side. My hand lingers on his face. I give him a kiss goodbye on his cheek. "Goodbye, Kendall," I whisper and stand up.

I grab ahold of the ladder and I am frozen to it. But my eyes are still on my brother's still and lifeless body as I am being pulled up. He is the last thing I see in the arena before the doors close.

The doctors welcome me and give me some drug so they can fix me up. My eyes drift shut, and before I lose consciousness, a single tear escapes my eye as I think of Kendall one more time.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

I slowly open my eyes, and I'm blinded by the bright white lights. Where am I? I look at my left arm and see all of the tubes sticking out of it. Then everything comes rushing into my mind. The final battle with Cress. Kendall being stabbed. Me killing Cress. Then Kendall dying in my arms. And now I am being made pretty again by the doctors before I'm presented in front of the Capitol.

I place my hands against my face, wanting to pretend Kendall is still alive. Wait...hands? I pull my right hand away from my face and see a fancy prosthetic hand attached to the stump where my real hand had been. The Capitol doctors had done this. I start to look at the rest of my body to see what else they did. All my scars are gone. There isn't a single imperfection on my body.

I didn't notice the doctor that had walked in until she said something. "Hello Lauren, how are you feeling? Is your new hand working out well? I figured you would want to have a prosthetic hand."

"It works great," I say while flexing the fingers.

"Excellent. You are all fixed up and ready to leave. Here are the clothes for you to put on." She hands me a pile of clothes and walks out through a door that blends in entirely with the wall. I cringe when I unfold the clothes. Of course, I forgot that the tributes leave the hospital in the clothes they were given to wear in the arena.

I pull them on and stand in front of the wall where the door is. It opens and I walk out into the hallway. I walk tall and keep a blank face, knowing that they will be showing me right now. I turn a corner, and see Cresselia, Stefan, Logan, and my prep team waiting there for me. Cresselia and my prep team are all crying happy tears; Stefan is even smiling at me. But the look on Logan's face shows how truly proud of me he is. I hug him first, and then hug everyone else.

They lead me to an elevator, and we head up to the floor I stayed on before the games in the Training Building. Being here is a bit hard for me, and I fight hard not to cry. This place has memories of Kendall.

We eat some food, but I'm only allowed a small amount. Then the prep team leads me into my room to get me ready for my crowning of victor in front of the Capitol.

Calpurnia is chattering on about my best moments in the games while painting my nails pink. Icilius and Emboria are talking about how each moment made them feel while he does my makeup and she curls my hair. I don't have to say much in the conversation, which I am glad for.

I'm finally done and Logan walks in with a garment bag. I smile at him, looking forward to seeing whatever it was he designed for me. "So what am I wearing tonight?" I ask.

"You'll see," he responds. "Now close your eyes." I do as he says. He slips a dress over my head, careful not to mess up my hair and makeup. He makes a few small changes. "Ok you can look."

The dress is a pale pink floor length gown. It has one shoulder, is tight the entire length, and has a slit up the left leg to about mid-thigh. It completely complements my figure. My hair is curled perfectly and pinned to my left side. For my make up, I have smoky eyes and deep red lipstick. The outfit is simple, but it's simplicity is what makes it beautiful. I look mature and sexy, showing how much I have been changed by the games. I look perfect.

"Logan, it's perfect, like everything else you have designed for me," I say and hug him. We then walk down the elevator to the lobby of the building. The stage is right in front of the building, and we walk under it to prepare for our entrances. Stefan and Cresselia are already there. Cresselia leads Logan and the prep team to where they have to stand, and leave me and Stefan alone.

He tentatively smiles at me, and holds his arms open for a hug. I don't hesitate to return it. "Great job, Lauren. I'm so proud of you," he says, and steps back. "You proved to me that you are tough, and I admire how you played the games. And I'm sorry about Kendall. I see tributes die every year, but his death was one of the hardest. Probably because you two have been my favorite tributes. I'm glad that you made it out, but I wish there could have been something I could do to have Kendall make it as well."

He genuinely looks like he cared for Kendall. Maybe Stefan isn't too bad. I smile at him as my eyes start to water a bit. "Thanks Stefan. You know, I'm actually kinda glad to see you," I say.

Before I can say anything else, Cresselia comes running towards us. "You two need to get in your places, we're about to start!" She pulls Stefan away to where he has to stand, and I step onto the metal plate that marks where I will rise up.

The prep team goes up first, and the crowd starts cheering. I'm sure Calpurnia, Icilius, and Emboria are loving all the attention right now. Then Logan goes up and the crowd starts cheering even louder, since they loved his outfits. Next is Cresselia, who is shortly followed by Stefan. Stefan is received with a lot of cheers, since he helped me by being my mentor. Then my plate starts to rise up. I raise up my chin, and put a smile on my face. This is my night.

The crowd goes absolutely insane when they see me. I smile and wave at them as I walk over to where Claudia is sitting near the victor's throne. MY throne, I realize. She gives me a hug, and we sit down.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," she begins, once the crowd finally quiets down. "I give you Lauren Knight, the victor of the 124th Hunger Games!" Loud screams answer her.

Once the crowd gets quiet again, everyone's attention is on the large screens that are all over in the City Circle. It was time to show the main highlights of the games.

They begin with the reapings. Then they show me shining on the chariot ride next to Kendall. I smile as I remember the time I spent with Kendall before the games. Next is the interviews, they show mine, and I'm surprised that they show Kendall's as well. I guess the person who puts together the highlights wanted to show the brother/sister relationship.

Then the games begin. I see myself running towards the cornucopia and grabbing items. But then I see every gruesome death: Draco from 3 being stabbed, Clair from 3 being killed by the knife Kendall threw, Morty being completely sliced in half. This makes me shudder a bit at the pure blood lust that Brycen had. Then Brock is stabbed with a sword, Lucius is hit in the head with a malice by Angela, and then myself killing Jasmine. I'm shocked at myself; I look almost like a graceful animal launching herself at her prey.

They show Gabriella and I running from the cornucopia. They show us for a bit in our tree, and I smile thinking about Gabriella. Then they cut away from us to show Brycen and Elesa hunt down Erika and Carlos; Erika's throat is slit, and Carlos' neck is snapped. Gabriella and I are shortly shown again, sitting in our tree.

It switched over to when the mutts first appeared. Falkner is killed by a mutt, and they show Skyla's struggle. Then Elesa is shown gracefully shooting the bow and arrow at Skyla. Gabriella and I are shown killing our mutts. The producer even decided to show Kendall killing his mutt. He looks almost graceful as he throws a single knife at the mutt, killing it. I smile at him, proud of my brother.

But the next scene shown almost makes me cry. I see Gabriella get stabbed by Sparkle, and the video cuts away to show me running towards them. I get to the clearing, and kill Sparkle. Again, I am shocked at how I look like an animal attacking prey. The crowd screams louder at my kill. I smile at the feeling that I avenged Gabriella by killing her murderer. The entire moment with Gabriella dying is shown, and then I leave her. I'm kinda shocked at my face, how I looked like I wanted to kill.

The Careers are shown next and Iris is killed, simply because she didn't agree with Brycen. I can't believe how insane he was. The screens cut back to my face when I had jumped out of the tree. My face shows my thirst to kill the remaining tributes. I am shown briefly walking to find Kendall.

Next I am in the tree in the morning near Kendall. I am shown throwing the ax at Angela. I can't help it, I throw my fist in the air, happy with killing the girl who had caused so many problems for me. This makes the crowd scream louder. They continue cheering as Kendall and I reunite. We are shown for a bit sitting in the tree. Whitney is shown briefly, she grabs a fruit which ended up being poisonous.

But then I am shown fighting with Glam. Every detail of the fight is shown. I look down at my new hand when I see Glam cut off my old hand. But then Kendall kills him, and I am smiling again. They show everything about Kendall working on my hand.

Then they cut to the feast. Kendall darts out of the cornucopia and runs to the forest with our bag; Elesa and Blaine both run towards the bags and fight; Elesa kills Blaine but dies shortly after in Brycen's arms from blood lose; Cress grabs the bags and runs towards the mountain, pursued by Brycen. So that's exactly what happened at the feast.

Kendall is shown taking care of my wound. The crowd goes aww about how much my brother cared about me. Even I let out a quick tear as I remember those last few days in the arena with Kendall.

Brycen and Cress are shown fighting, and Cress finally stabs him with his trident. Finally, it's the last battle at the cornucopia. I see Cress block my attack and stab Kendall. I gasp at the wound, and I'm surprised at how fierce I looked. Then Cress knocks me down, and Kendall manages to stand up and stab him in the neck. I'm shown standing up, and bringing the ax down on his neck. I looked merciless, like a beautiful assassin.

Then it's Kendall's finally moments. I'm starting to silently cry, and I wipe the tears away. They show every detail, and the crowd is even crying. They show me standing up as I'm announced victor, and the last thing shown is when I stand up again after kissing Kendall's cheek goodbye, right before I get on the hovercraft.

The crowd erupts in loud cheers. I smile at everyone proudly; they are cheering for me, their newest victor. President Xavier walks on stage with a small boy who is carrying my crown. He congratulates me and gives me a hug. I actually like him, he is a good president and has done a lot for Panem. He places the crown on my head, and the crowd erupts in even louder screams. I smile and wave at them.

"Alright everyone," Claudia finally says. "That's it for tonight, but don't forget to tune in tomorrow morning for our interview with Lauren!"

We all walk of stage, and go into the training building for a celebratory dinner. I am congratulated by many people, and by the end of the dinner my face hurts from all of the smiling.

I finally get to walk upstairs to my room. I pull my heels of in the elevator, glad to be out of them. The door opens and I see Stefan sitting at a table waiting for me. "Great job tonight. I suggest you go to sleep soon, you have your interview early in the morning." He smiles at me before I walk away to my room.

I take my dress off and grab a pair of warm pajamas. I get under the covers, enjoying the softness of the bed. I haven't slept anywhere this comfortable since prior to the games. I fall asleep quickly, exhausted from the events of the day.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

I'm waken up by the high pitched voices of my prep team. They're here to get me ready for my interview. They keep my hair and makeup light, with my hair in a high ponytail and very light eye shadow. Logan comes in and helps me get into a summery green dress.

"I see we're going casual today," I say when I see the dress.

"Yes," he agrees. "Last night was all about your first presentation as victor. That dress needed to make a bold statement. But today is just about wrapping up the games, and we're in a more informal setting. So I decided you would wear something more casual."

I nod my head to show that I understand, and we walk into the living room. The couch is surrounded by roses. The room is full of the camera crew, and standing by the couch is Claudia Flickerman. She sees me walk in and approaches me. "Hello, Lauren. It's great to see you. We'll be getting started in a little bit."

We sit down on the couch and wait while the crew finishes up some things. The head camera man counts us down, and then we are live on every tv in Panem.

"Hello everyone. I'm Claudia Flickerman, and I am here with Lauren Knight, our newest Hunger Games victor. Last night we saw the highlights of the games from the cameras' views, but today we'll be hearing everything from Lauren's view. So Lauren, can you tell us about the bloodbath and the beginning of the games?"

"Before the games start, you're lifted up on a metal platform. The first thing you see is the gleaming cornucopia, surrounded by weapons and everything you could possibly need to survive. Then you see all of the tributes surrounding it, all of them wanting your blood, because your death means they're one step closer to victory. The sixty second wait seems to take forever. During that time, I saw Kendall and told him forest, because that would be the place for us to meet. Then the gong rang, and I sprinted to get everything I can grab. But while this is happening, I see tributes being killed. Then Clair started running towards me, and I start to panic because I couldn't get a weapon ready in time. But then Kendall saved my life. He was protecting me, like he had done my entire life. The ground was starting to get slick with the blood of the dead tributes and I saw Lucius be killed. I knew I had to save Gabriella from getting killed; we had made an alliance prior to the games, if we were forced in a situation that called for it. I saw Jasmine running to kill Gabriella, and I didn't even think, I just ran towards her and killed her. Then we ran into the forest, fearing we were going to be pursued."

"Wow, I never knew that was exactly what went through I tributes mind. So we all know that you were allies with Gabriella. I don't know about everyone else, but her death made me cry. But I want to know what exactly you were thinking when you heard her scream."

"I started to panic," I begin. "I knew that it was Gabriella screaming. I knew that I probably wouldn't make it in time to save her. But I tried to save her. When I got to the clearing and saw her laying on the ground bleeding, it was like some primal instinct was turned on inside me. I needed to kill Sparkle for injuring Gabriella. But even after she was dead, it didn't matter. It was too late to save Gabriella. I felt like I needed to do something for her, so I held her in my arms as she died." At that point, a single tear escapes from my eye. I sniffle as I wipe it away. "It still makes me sad thinking about her, she was such a nice person, and I wish I could have known her for longer."

"I think we all would have liked to see her make it farther," she says, as she gives me a side hug. "So after her death, you found Kendall. But then Glam came past you. Can you give us some insight into the battle with him?"

I shudder a bit, remembering that day. "When I first heard him, I thought for sure he had saw me. But when he didn't run towards me, I thought maybe he didn't see me. He walked past me, and I knew it would be the perfect moment to attack him. Neither of us were really making any hits. But then I made the biggest mistake. I thought he was going to attack towards my left. He was feinting, and that mistake cost me my hand. I have never been in that much pain. I thought for sure that he would kill me. But then Kendall saved my life, again. Glam was probably one of the toughest opponents I faced in the games, besides Cress."

"Speaking of your hand, I noticed that you were fitted with a prosthetic hand. How is it working for you?"

I look down at my hand and flex the fingers. "Oh it works great. I still have some difficulty grabbing things, but I think in a few weeks it will almost be as good as my old hand. I was quite shocked when I woke up and I had two hands again."

"I'm glad you have two hands again." She places a hand on my shoulder and smiles at me. "Now, you and your brother Kendall went through a lot in the games. One of the saddest moments in the games for me was when he died. But I know that my sorrow must have been nowhere near what you were feeling, and still probably feeling. Do you think you could tell us some more about Kendall?"

I nod my head, my eyes already starting to water. "Kendall was probably one of the greatest brothers ever. He was always trying to make me happy and protect me. When our mother died a couple years ago, he did everything he could to keep me busy, anything to distract me and make me feel better. He even volunteered for my boyfriend so that if I were to become victor, I could live a happy life with him." I'm crying right now, thinking about Kendall. "Seeing him die in the games, it was the worst moment of my life. I always looked up to him while growing up, and there he was, bleeding to death, and I couldn't save him, make everything better like he did for me over the years. In the arena, I didn't just lose a brother. I lost my best friend."

I can't help it, I start sobbing. Someone from the crew passes me a box of tissues. "Thanks," I mumble. I grab a couple tissues and wipe the tears away, but it's useless. My face is wet with tears again in a few minutes. Claudia sits there and tries to comfort me. She lets me have a few minutes to myself before she continues, and I really appreciate it.

"I'm really sorry for your loss, Lauren. But remember, you still have your brother James, Chris, and all your friends back at home. And you'll be seeing them later tonight back in District 7. You won't be alone. So what are you going to do now with your time? I'm curious if you have an idea of what your hobby will be."

"I do have an idea already what I'm going to do," I say with a smile. "I want to pay a tribute for everyone who was in the games. I am going to carve figurines out of wood, some will be people and others will be of events from the games."

"That sounds like it will be a beautiful hobby. I look forward to seeing it," she says, and places her hand on mine. "Alright everyone. That's all for now. We'll see more of Lauren when it's time for the victory tour. Goodbye, people of Panem."

The cameras are turned off, and everyone starts saying goodbye. Claudia gives me a hug. "Lauren, I'm going to miss you. I really enjoyed getting to know you, and I can't wait to see you again. I hope you have a great new life back in District 7. And again, I really am sorry about Kendall." She smiles at me and walks away. The camera crew is almost all packed up when I am attacked by hugs.

My prep team is tightly squeezing me in hugs. They're sobbing on my shoulders and all talking at the same time about how sad they are that I have to leave. I finally manage to get out of the hug after a couple minutes of comforting them. "Don't be sad, I'll be seeing you guys in a few months. It will be here sooner than you think. And this isn't goodbye for good." They nod their heads in agreement, and walk away wiping their tears away.

Logan walks towards me, and I run to give him a hug. "Logan, I'm going to miss you," I mumble into his shoulder. I pull my head away to look up at his face. "You did so much for me while I was here, and you really have become a good friend."

"I'll miss you too. I really enjoyed designing outfits for you. These next six months will be sad not seeing you, but we'll be able to see each other soon. And, I can always call you now on your phone that's going to be in your new house," he says with a smile.

"Promise you'll call me?" I say with a smile.

"Every day," he promises. He let's go of me, and kisses my check goodbye. He goes on the elevator with the prep team, and then I'm left with Stefan and Cresselia.

I turn to them and smile. "C'mon, let's go home."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

I stare out the window at the passing fields. I would be at home in a couple hours. I sigh, thinking about home. I had left there with Kendall and now I'm returning without him. His death is the reason I'm alive and returning.

I walk about of my room to go to the dining car; I can't sit by myself any longer. I walk in and see Stefan sitting at the table with an empty plate in front of him.

"Hey, what's up?" I say as I take the seat across from him and start piling food on my plate.

"Not much," he responds. "I was just thinking about the first time that I returned from the Capitol thirteen years ago. I was only 14, yet I had just been crowned victor. 14, and already I had killed people. I didn't know what to expect from being a victor. But I realized it was horrible after mentoring kids, some who were older than me, and watching them die. But then you and Kendall came along, and I thought for the first time in years that maybe I wouldn't go back to 7 alone. And I'm glad that you won. I feel that if I went a few more years with no fellow victor, I might lose myself to alcohol or something worse. So thanks for saving me from a horrible future."

I'm shocked at this side of Stefan. I've never seen him reveal this side of him. "Is it really that bad mentoring kids?" I ask quietly. This is going to be my life soon, mentoring kids to go into the arena and most likely die.

"Just don't get your hopes up that there will always be a victor from 7. You'll just end up disappointing yourself more." After that, we sit in silence for a while as I eat my food. The train starts to slow down, and I start getting nervous about seeing everyone. Will the stay away from me now, having seen me ruthlessly kill people? Or will they still love me like they did before the games? And then there's Kendall's funeral to have...

I stand up to walk to the door once the train comes to a stop. Stefan stands next to me and puts his arm around me. "Don't worry about anything for now. You're still the star."

I smile at him and the door opens. I vaguely see the camera crew, but I'm completely focused on James, Chris, and all my friends waiting for me. I run forward to James and give him a big hug, not wanting to let go. "James, I've missed you so much! You don't know how much I've needed you in the past few days," I say quietly to him, not wanting the cameras to hear me.

I pull away from him and notice that he is starting to cry. "I'm just so glad that you made it back, Lauren. I wouldn't have been able to live without you and Kendall." I smile at him, telling him with my eyes that we would have to finish this conversation later, away from the cameras.

My waist is encased in a tight hug from Rosalinda then. "Lauren you were so great in the games! And you looked so pretty dressed up all fancy!" She starts to begin speaking more, but I stop her.

"Rosalinda, we'll have plenty of time to talk later about everything," I say with a smile. She's so cute and innocent, and I'm glad I volunteered for her. She has so much to look forward to in life.

After I stop hugging Rosalinda, I look up and see Alessandra. She is standing there smiling at me, and I hug her. I've really missed my best friend while I've been gone. "I'm so happy to see you back, Lauren. I was scared I was going to lose one of my best friends. But you pulled through, and survived."

"I've missed you too," I respond. "Besides, I had to come back. Who else would help you look after this little hooligan?" I say as I ruffle Rosalinda's hair and smile.

But then I see Chris. He is standing there with the biggest smile ever on his face. I run straight to his arms and he spins me around. He sets me down and gives me a passionate kiss. He pulls away after a minute. "Lauren, I love you so much. I seriously don't know what I would have done if you didn't make it back."

I'm starting to cry happy tears, and I can barely speak. "I love you too," I say in a whisper. I hug him again, savoring the moment of being in his arms. But we have to separate eventually because a car is waiting to take me to my new house. My house in the Victor's Village.

I get into the car with James and Chris, never letting go of Chris' hand. It's a short car ride to the Victor's Village. We arrive and get out of the car. I'm staring in awe at the house, hardly believing that it's mine. It's never been used, like most of the houses. Only a few have been used.

We walk inside, beginning a brand new part of my life. My life as a victor.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19:**

Time has passed relatively quickly since I came home victorious from the games. It's still sometimes hard to believe that it has already been five months. And in just a month, I'll be going on the victory tour.

Shortly after I arrived back home, we had Kendall's funeral. It was probably one of the saddest days in my life, especially since I saw his death in person. For several days after, I wouldn't leave my room, I was simply too depressed. But I then realized that Kendall wouldn't have wanted me to be depressed, so I started to try to get life back to normal. Or as normal as life can be after becoming a victor.

James is still running the shop; not because we need to, but simply because he wants to. I think part of the reason is also because of the memories of Kendall that are in that shop. Alessandra helps him out in the shop sometimes when she isn't busy. But most of the time she is out in the forest working. I often look after Rosalinda and Dorian at these times. Chris has asked me to marry him, and we plan on getting married after I come back from my victory tour. President Xavier even offered for Chris to come on the tour with me, which I think is a great measure of kindness. Logan calls me every day, just like he promised he would; we talk about nothing in particular. But I don't mind; I enjoy simply talking to him since he is one of my best friends.

I've started working on my hobby. I have made many figurines of all of the tributes from the games, even the careers like Sparkle and Cress. I have sculpted different scenes from the games, like the tributes surrounding the cornucopia and some of the tributes in mid-battle. But most of all, I make many sculptures of Kendall. I try to remember him as much as possible, and doing this allows me to honor his memory.

Life has gone on since Kendall's death. It was hard the first few weeks for James and I, but we pulled through. And every morning, I still walk down to his grave and place fresh flowers. I try to live my life as happily as possible, because I know that Kendall sacrificed his life so I could be happy.

So I spend every day working on my hobby, thinking about Kendall, and just trying to live life to the fullest. Because I know that I am truly lucky to be alive today.

**This was just a short little epilogue. So what did you think of the story? I know it wasn't fantastic, but I have another Hunger Games story that I'll post, which is much better, in my opinion (:**

**I hope you enjoyed the story!**


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